Chapter 111. More theories about Dungeons

The southern path was similar to the northern one in the way it was built, except for an extra room somewhere in the middle of it. 

It was a Quest marker that brought him there; it was no doubt another journal to be found.

After clearing the monsters outside and inside the room, Michael approached the Archivist's Lectern and grabbed the book. The system immediately identified it as Archivist's Journal II.

"Let's see what it says in it... Hmm... German... more German... Oh! This looks similar to French... how do you even pronounce this? Eh? Here we go!"

[We received the order. Our company has been called away on a mission for the Light. I know that, like the others who have been called to serve, we will not return.]

"Well... shit! That doesn't sound ominous at all..."

[We have already given everything to the Church. Must we give up our lives as well...?]

Reading the passage, Michael could feel the unwillingness and frustration of the archivist. Furthermore, judging from the previous journal, after meeting Zalan's mother, the man might've been shaken from his 'unyielding faith' after a brief conversation about what they each left behind.

"It's not that surprising, really. People think they can easily give up on their bonds and wealth, but after time passes, our true natures will undoubtedly surface sooner or later. I can only hope the archivist didn't do something stupid to endanger everyone. I'd hate to bring such things back to that kid..."

Shaking away the gloomy thoughts, the young Necromancer continued his advance through the southern path in search of the second Watcher.

After massacring everything in his way, he finally found it toward the end of the halls.

[ Rak Hunde Watchman (Elite) - Level 33

*Waller: Manipulates the earth to create a wall around the target.

*Explosive: Explosions send shockwaves around the creature afflicted with this modifier, dealing 250 damage to its surroundings. ]

This Unique Elite was more problematic as it kept using his Waller modifier on him, separating his minions from him. Furthermore, by using it, not only did Michael get singled out, but he was put in a one-on-one duel with Rak Hunde. 

To make matters worse, the Explosive modifier was the bane of his skeletal minions, as every time the brigand released the flames, the poor accountants would die instantly, while the goons and Pathfinder would be left with a sliver of Life.

Even for himself, every time he saw that ball of fire thrown by the Elite, he would instantly use Blood Mist to avoid being damaged. 

Unfortunately, the fight was prolonged as a result.

"Tsk! Finally dead. What a tough to deal with bastard!"

[ Dungeon Quest updated - Light's Watch

Objective: Slay the Watchman Lead and retrieve the Watchman's Key. ]

"Of-fucking-course! I can't seem to catch a goddamn break... Shit!"

Just as he was whining and cursing, someone appeared behind him. All Michael had time to do was plunge forward, as he felt being attacked.

Unfortunately, he was too late, and one of the blades found its way into his lower back, stabbing deeply.

Instantly taking out a Life Potion to drink, Michael rolled on the ground and called his minions to block in front of him.

"Motherfucker! That was 400 damage in one hit! The fuck are you!? A Boss!?"

[ Sou Watchman Lead (Elite) - Level 33

*Teleporter: Teleport randomly in a 10-meter radius range to avoid taking damage.

*Vampiric: Each successful hit on an enemy heals you for 45% of the damage dealt.

*Summoner: Creates three summoning circles through which demonic creatures can be called upon every 2 minutes. ]

"This overpowered bastard! I bet you could give the Boss of this Dungeon a run for his money... *Sigh* Dual-wielding blades as well. I bet he was a strong Wanderer before his 'dungeonification.' Whatever devil noble took over this place got himself a fucking bargain."

With yet another Unique Elite to deal with, the fight was once more prolonged, especially with the bastard teleporting around and summoning more bandits to fight.

Also, unlike the other Elites he met with this modifier, this guy had a unique method of 'summoning,' if it could even be called that. He would whistle!

That's right, whistle! No strange circles on the floor, no magic; he would simply whistle, and more bastards would join the fight from the empty nearby rooms. 

It made no sense, but Michael didn't have time to think about it. Almost 10 minutes later, Michael looked at his pouch holding Life Potions and was disturbed seeing that he used three of them in this fight alone.

"Overpowered bastard... *Sigh* Now my Equipment Inventory is also full... This time, I have no choice but to throw things. I have no Magic item boxes... only actual items. I can't put those in my pockets..."

With heartfelt pain, he threw four Magic items on the ground as he picked up the Rare item boxes to replenish his stock.

Looking at the strange key, he smirked and played with it.

[ Dungeon Quest updated - Light's Watch

Objective: Use the Watchman's Key to open the Watchman's Gate. ]

With another glance at the items left on the cold Dungeon floor, Michael ran back to the Light's Eye room. On his way there, he was surprised that the time left on the Elixir was around 30% or so.

Placing the key on the door and unlocking it, he wondered if there were some sort of attenuating circumstances around how the Elixir worked. He did not doubt that his notion of time was skewed in Dungeons, but he was confident that he'd been inside this one for at least an hour based on the monsters he fought and the hallways he walked through. 

Thinking back to his 'saved game' theory, it was possible that the time spent in the Dungeon differed from the time that passes in the real world. There was also the possibility that he wasn't aware of how these Elixirs operated since they affected both some sort of resistance and his experience gain.

If, for example, during the time he didn't gain any experience and wasn't affected by fire damage, the Elixir's usage was slowed down, it wouldn't be that far-fetched either. 

"There's still too much I don't know when it comes to common sense. Well... it's Wanderer common sense, but still. It seems I need to spend more time in the taverns and inns with them. Just listening to their stories would help me tremendously. But... I don't have much time to do that..."

Thinking about how he's been going from one Quest to another and then from one Dungeon to another, Michael was stunned.

He didn't realize just how busy he's been. Yes, he played around with Helen for a few days, but percentage-wise, his time has been dedicated to leveling up and being a Wanderer.

"*Sigh* I didn't realize how fast I've adjusted to this new world... However, it's not that good for my mental health in the long run. Should I take a break after reaching Level 30? Or deal with the Main Quest first before taking the break?"

Messing his hair in frustration, the young Necromancer stared at the grayish strands between his fingers and decided to ask Helen. It was the normal thing to do, after all!

Pushing the doors open, he was suddenly ambushed by seven monsters, two of which were Volkdak, the Worgen that walked on two feet, similar to the werewolves he'd seen in movies back on Earth. The other five were Brigands and normal Bandits.

Cleaning the trash, he continued advancing through the Dungeon. The hallways seemed endless, and at some point, he somehow ended up outside once more. The snowstorm was still ongoing, blocking his sight from whatever was behind the walls.

"I've been walking for over 10 minutes since I've even counted mentally. But the Elixir has barely decreased in consumption. It's related to fighting and gaining experience, after all... But more experiments are needed. What if I fight just one monster every minute? After 30 monsters, would the effect of it end? Or is it based on the bulk of experience gained? What if I walk inside of a burning building? Would the effect disappear after 30 minutes of staying inside?"

Adding more questions to the neverending list, Michael realized it had become a habit for him and Helen to discuss after their usual 'fights' before falling asleep. 

It was mostly him asking and Helen answering, but sometimes he would tell her stories of what he went through during the day if he found it interesting.

"Eh!? That room... looks suspiciously similar to the other two trap rooms I've been through in my previous Dungeons..."

Unsurprisingly, as soon as he entered, the door leading into it and the one leading out were sealed by a blueish wall of air.

[ Dungeon Event issued - Light's Watch

Objective: Travel to the Light's War Room

Event: Survive for 5 minutes. ]

Seeing the strange Event and the summoning circles on the ground, Michael raised an eyebrow. Counting mentally while fighting the monsters and the Elites spawned, he realized that the timer on the Quest interface and his mental counting were the same in terms of 'Mississippis.' 

'Was my theory about the time flowing in the Dungeon being different than the one outside wrong? Or is the time inside the Dungeon the same, but once outside, two hours spent in the Dungeon could be only one in reality? Experiments are needed...' 

His thought process was cut short once three goddamn Elites spawned, two of which had the Frozen and the Terrifying effects, respectively. Remembering how he almost died to that combo, he paid more attention to the fight.

When he was down to only two Elites left, he leveled up and cleaned up the remaining two using the airwave displacement. Seeing the confused Volkdaks, which were sent flying, only to be pulled back by Corpse Tendrils and then sent to High Heavens through Corpse Explosion, Michael smiled in relief.

[ Class: High Necromancer

Attack Power: 583

 Armor: 1202

 Life: 820

--------------

Strength: 137

Intelligence: 162

Willpower: 149

Dexterity: 166 ]

Looking at the five Rare item boxes on the ground, tears almost fell from his eyes. Ignoring the problem temporarily, Michael inspected his status page. 

"Tsk! 110,880 experience points are needed for the next level. It doesn't grow too crazily, but I'm scared of how much I'll need starting Level 50 onwards. Now... back to the problem at hand. I only have two more Magic item boxes in my inventory. That means that... I need to throw away three Rare items!?"

Feeling that he might throw up blood soon, he looked carefully through the unopened item boxes, as well as the actual items he had.

"Zivek always complains about how I bring Necromancer-restricted stuff to him and how he can't sell them further. I have seven Class-restricted items that I can't use, like that two-handed club and the two-handed staff. Should I... Nah. I'm not in need of money right now. It's better to have more options for my equipment."

In the end, he threw the two-handed club and two crappy-looking bows. He still had a nicely crafted pair of daggers, the two-handed staff, and two crossbows.

Michael thought that, even if he couldn't use them, the ones that were more complicated to craft should at least get him better materials or more gold coins.

"Then again, I already have 133,712 gold coins. I didn't even realize it, but I gained a huge amount today through Quests and killing monsters."

Setting up a 'small goal' of one million for himself to get that Ring of Communication, the Necromancer advanced through the halls while searching for the Boss room.

Nothing exciting happened on his way there. He had no troubles except for some small fries until he reached the third Quest marker.

A strange Blood Mage Elite stood guard in front of the door of that room. It wasn't strong, but it was disgusting in its own way...

[ Desmod Blightcall (Elite) - Level 34 

*Summoner: Creates three summoning circles through which demonic creatures can be called upon every 1 minute. ]

Even if the Blood Mage would turn into bats and run randomly across the hallways, it wouldn't be a problem.

Even if it used his Summoner modifier every minute, it wouldn't be a problem.

However... after four waves of Worgen, Bandits, and Skeletons, the bastard summoned something strange. Unable to believe his eyes, Michael asked the system to identify the creatures.

The result disgusted him profoundly...

[ Villagers (Minions) - Level 33 ]

Unable to do anything in this situation, Michael cast Corpse Tendrils to round them up and then... used Corpse Explosion on these creatures that looked similar to the men and women he's been seeing daily in Kyovashad, Nevesk, and Menestad.

A strange sense of anger welled up inside him, but he didn't let it cloud his judgment. He watched the 'Villagers' die, their bodies leaving behind Corpses upon death.

Breathing out in relief, he baited Desmond Blightcaller in the area where their bodies were and detonated all of them using Corpse Explosion. Thirteen bodies... He counted them all, so he knew there were at least thirteen bodies he used the skill on... the Elite didn't stand a chance.

"Truly... what a damned disgusting feeling..."