19 Chapter 19. Dungeon diving
"*Sigh* Not only is the road leading away from the Dungeon blocked by the snowstorm, but now I have to deal with this strange crap as well!?"
On the road before him, two Skeletons were climbing out from under the ground and snow.
[ Skeleton Warrior (Minion) - Level 7 ]
They looked different than the ones summoned through his skill, though. His had a bluish tint and held proper weapons in their hands, while the ones popping up now held rusty swords.
On top of it, Michael's were somewhat equipped with boots, gauntlets, and a helmet, while the 'wild' ones were bare skeletons. Well... to say 'bare' was quite an overstatement, as they looked dark and covered in dirt, similar to peasants, while the summoned ones looked white-bluish, giving them a strange feeling of nobility.
"As much as it will look like bullying, I guess it's time for target practice."
Not giving them more time to fully raise from the ground, he threw a cast of Bone Splinters toward each of the two while also having his summons attack.
Ganging up on the still-emerging wild Skeletons resulted in an easy victory and a small surprise.
[ Strider's Handwraps
Arms: Gloves
11 Item Power
----------------------
6 Armor ]
It wasn't much, but it was his first item drop. And he could use it immediately as well!
"Happiness came too suddenly!"
Marching onward with renewed vigor, he was almost caught off guard when he saw another three wild Skeletons rising from the ground ahead. It was an alarming sight as each held a freaking crossbow in their hands.
[ Skeleton Archers (Minion) - Level 7 ]
"Those should be crossbowmen! Also, where the fuck did they pull that out off!? Shit!"
Throwing three casts of Bone Splinters while blocking an arrow one of the minions couldn't, he thanked the Wanderer trio once more as the training paid off.
Removing the arrow stuck in his shield and looking on the ground for more drops, he was disappointed to see no loot. No gold, no items, no nothing.
What did come as a surprise was that his experience bar now showed 933/1260.
"I didn't pay attention, but do these Skeletons give that much XP?"
Excited, he walked around but couldn't find any other easy pickings. Shrugging, he took in the surroundings and was surprised to see the ruined appearance of a once-tall tower.
The Dungeon entrance was obvious at its base since it was glowing brightly enough to be mistaken for the door to a shop back on Earth. Other demolished towers were nearby, but most were leveled to the ground, and nothing of interest was near them.
"Such is life, I guess. Huh? Stairs?"
Noticing a flight of stairs climbing atop the Dungeon, Michael carefully climbed them, with two Skeletons in his front and two at the back.
He initially didn't find anything at the top but almost jumped with joy when he noticed a strange thing hidden under some wreckage.
"CHEST! That's a fucking treasure chest!"
Almost pouncing on the thing, Michael calmed down and had one of the Skeletons open it instead since there was always the possibility of traps or mimics.
The chest was pried open and vanished in thin air after leaving behind an item, eight gold coins, and a strange blood orb.
[ Hide Tunic
Torso: Chest Armor
Item Power: 23
--------------------
Armor 40 ]
Not the greatest when compared to Martel's creations, but having spares is good. He tried equipping it on top of what he wore, but the system would automatically remove the other.
Seeing no way to cheat, Michael gave up and tried picking up the blood orb.
[ Weak Healing Potion already full. ]
A prompt appeared out of nowhere, confirming Michael's conjecture of the system proving healing potions and reassuring him about the three vials the one called Stanis helped him refill.
Finding nothing else to postpone the inevitable with, Michael descended the stairs and walked in front of the glowing door.
"It lives up to its name as a Dungeon, doesn't it? *Sigh* Was this place a small fort before it was demolished by whatever happened here? What's with them having an actual dungeon in the tower's basement!? That's way too dark!"
The gates, if one could call them that, looked more like iron poles stuck together. With a gentle push, it opened, and Michael found himself in a different location before he could process what happened.
His four Skeleton Warriors were still around him; however, he didn't like the sudden change in decorum.
It looked like he was in a low-ceiling cellar with only two doors. Well, a door and a portal.
"Thankfully, there's none of that teleportation sickness I've read about in other novels. Still, this room is creepy as fuck... Why the hell are there lit torches on the walls? Speaking of which... I forgot to bring a new torch myself..."
Annoyed at his forgetfulness, he yanked one of the torches on the walls with his left hand, relinquishing the shield temporarily.
He explored the empty room and verified the door leading further into the Dungeon.
"Safely closed. Good! The portal leads back outside, but I don't need to test that for now. Gonk mentioned that it would stay like that until I clear the Dungeon, in case I need to run back to mommy. If I do clear it, the Sanctuary will grant me the use of a portal. It's supposed to bring me out to the closest town."
Realizing he should have sufficient time, Michael grinned at the disappearing countdown the Sanctuary imposed on the Quest.
Since his safety was guaranteed, it was finally time to check on his Core Skills and pick the future path he would walk on.
With the decision made, he moved to the left side of the portal, where the scythe in his right hand could cut down whoever entered the portal behind him.
"Gonk and the trio said nobody can enter the same Dungeon instance as me unless we're in the same party. However, one can't be too safe."
Eying the door on the other side of the room, he sighed and opened his Abilities page.
The first thing that drew his attention was the passive skills...
[ Unliving Energy
-----------------
Your maximum Essence is increased by 3. ]
...and then its improvement.
[ Imperfectly Balanced
----------------------
Your Core Skills cost x (3%) more Essence, but deal x (5%) increased damage. ]
Both this passive skill and its improvement could be upgraded three times.
Pondering for a while, Michael moved his eyes to the second passive skill he saw.
[ Hewed Flesh
---------------
Lucky hit: Your damage has up to a 4% chance to create a Corpse at the target's location. This chance doubles with Bosses. ]
There were no further improvements for this passive, but it could be upgraded three times. This only confirmed Michael's theory about Corpse-based skills, even if he had seen none.
"There's no rush. Let's see the active skills first."
[ Sever
Type: Core | Darkness
-------------------------
Essence Cost: 20
Lucky Hit: 20%
A specter of you charges forward and attacks with its scythe for (66%) damage, then returns to you and attacks once more for (21%) damage. ]
Imagining the scene of a ghost with a scythe rushing forth to attack everything in its path once and then dealing damage when returning to its original position as well made for a strong visual impact.
"Not to mention that it's similar to Reap, and it's a directional AOE attack. Interesting. Let's see the upgrades for it."
[ Enhanced Sever
-------------------------
Sever damages enemies on its path for 40% of its initial damage. ]
"So does that mean they get damaged for an extra 40% once the ghost passes through them? Odd..."
[ Paranormal Sever
-------------------------
Every 4th cast of Sever makes enemies Vulnerable for 2 seconds. ]
[ Supernatural Sever
-------------------------
Sever deals x2% damage for each summoned Minion you have upon cast. ]
"A debuff and a buff. The Vulnerable status has to do with armor reduction, most likely, while the second upgrade option is a buff based on the number of summoned minions I have. They both have their perks."
[ Blight
Type: Core | Darkness
-------------------------
Essence Cost: 25
Lucky Hit: 40%
Unleash concentrated blight that deals (30%) damage and leaves behind a defiled area, dealing (80%) damage over 6 seconds. ]
"A single target skill that turns into an AOE. Not to mention that it can be upgraded further, increasing the damage quite a bit. This could be an amazing ace against hordes of enemies. While the minions block their advance, I throw this, and they die inside the AOE attack while my Skeletons grind them down."
[ Enhanced Blight
-------------------------
Blight Slows enemies by 25%. ]
"Holy shit! That's amazing! It creates a defiled area that deals DOT (damage over time), making it more difficult for them to get out of that area. What about the other two upgrades?"
[ Paranormal Blight
-------------------------
Blight has a 30% chance to Immobilize enemies for 1.5 seconds upon impact. ]
[ Supernatural Blight
-------------------------
You and your minions deal 15% increased damage to enemies within Blight. ]
"Shit! The first option is good, but the second is downright amazing! Damn! Calm down, calm down! There are still three more Core Skills."
[ Blood Surge
Type: Core | Blood
-------------------------
Essence Cost: 30
Lucky Hit: 12%
Draw blood from enemies dealing (20%) damage, and expel a blood nova dealing (50%) damage. Blood Surge's nova damage is increased by 10% per enemy drained, up to 50%. ]
"Again, a single target spell that becomes AOE. First, you deal 20% to an enemy surrounded by others, and then BOOM! A blood explosion follows that deals an extra 50% damage to those around him. There are only two minor issues. One, I don't know the nova radius, and two, each cast costs 30 Essence, and I have 100 total..."
Thinking about the need for some items or skills that help with Essence regeneration, he focused on this skill's upgrades.
[ Enhanced Blood Surge
-------------------------
Blood Surge heals you for 2.5% of your Maximum Life when drawing blood from enemies. If four or more enemies are drawn from, then you Heal for an additional 2.5% of your Maximum Life. ]
"A good sustain. Basically, you exchange 30 Essence for 2.5% of your Maximum Life per cast. Not bad."
[ Paranormal Blood Surge
-------------------------
If an enemy is damaged by blood nova while you are Healthy, gain one stack of Overwhelming Blood. When you have five stacks of Overwhelming Blood, your next Blood Surge Overpowers. ]
[ Supernatural Blood Surge
-------------------------
Every time Blood Surge's nova hits an enemy, you are Fortified for 1% of Base Life. While you have Fortify for over 50% of your Maximum Life, Blood Surge deals 20% increased damage. ]
"*Sigh* Again with the Overpower and Fortify crap... I really need to find out how those two mechanics work. Still, this Blood Surge skill is a decent damage dealer while also providing sustain on the battlefield. It's on hold for now. Let's see the next ones."
[ Blood Lance
Type: Core | Blood
-------------------------
Essence Cost: 15
Lucky Hit: 33%
Throw a Blood Lance that lingers in an enemy for 3 seconds, dealing (80%) damage to that enemy and all other enemies lanced. ]
"Uhm... It's hard to call this one an AOE spell, but it's halfway there. The burst damage is higher, though; this could work on elite mobs or mini-bosses. Let's see the upgrades."
[ Enhanced Blood Lance
-------------------------
Blood Lance pierces through enemies currently lanced, dealing 15% reduced damage to subsequent enemies after the first. ]
"A directional attack with pierce. It's good and all, but the three seconds are not a lot to work with..."
[ Paranormal Blood Lance
-------------------------
While at least two enemies or a Boss are affected by Blood Lance, you gain 15% Attack Speed, and Blood Lance's Essence cost is reduced by 3 points. ]
[Supernatural Blood Lance
-------------------------
After casting Blood Lance 6 times, your next Blood Lance is guaranteed to Overpower and spawn a Blood Orb under the first enemy hit.
*Blood Orb - Heals you for 15% of your Maximum Life when picked up.]
"Damn... the Blood class skills have excellent sustain. However, meeting Aylin again after picking this route sounds terrifying. She might force me to redo my skill choices. *Sigh* Let's see the last one, I guess."
[ Bone Spear
Type: Core | Bone
-------------------------
Essence Cost: 25
Lucky Hit: 50%
Conjure a Bone Spear from the ground, dealing (85%) damage and piercing through enemies. ]
"This... isn't this the much better version of Blood Lance? The damage is higher, the Lucky Hit chance is higher, and it pierces through enemies from the start. Are the upgrades trash? It would become too overpowered if they aren't."
[ Enhanced Bone Spear
-------------------------
Bone Spear breaks into three shards when destroyed, dealing 25% damage each. ]
"Well, shit! That's not even remotely close to being trash..."
[ Paranormal Bone Spear
-------------------------
Bone Spear has a 5% increased Critical Strike Chance. If Bone Spear's primary projectile Critical Strikes, it fires two additional shards when destroyed. ]
[ Supernatural Bone Spear
-------------------------
Bone Spear makes the first enemy hit Vulnerable for 3 seconds. ]
"Yeah... none of those are weak. Damn! I already have the Bone Splinters basic skill. Should I go for Bone Spear next? Becoming a ranged fighter while using the Skeletons to tank doesn't sound like a bad idea."
[ Quest update - Darkness Within
Description: Search the depts of Icehowl Ruins
Time remaining: 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 56 seconds. ]
Rolling his eyes at the annoying system, Michael closed the Abilities page and looked at the closed door across the room.
"Wel... I guess it's time to start this Dungeon run properly."
