Chapter 20. The full Dungeon experience

Rechecking his gear, Michael had three Skeletons stay in front of him as meat shields while the fourth opened the door leading further into the Dungeon.

All the suspense was for naught, though, as the next room was even smaller. It had some crates, as well as another door leading somewhere.

Repeating the previous action, Michael had one of the Skeletons open up the crates, and surprisingly, seven gold coins dropped.

"Interesting. Does this mean I can look into hidden places for gold and items?"

Unfortunately, the clock set by the Sanctuary was ticking. There was no time for further analysis, so it was brawn over brain for now.

The Skeleton he aptly named 'Pathfinder' opened the door leading to the third room and rushed forward while the other three did the same.

Michael sauntered behind them while making sure no wild Kkeletons popped up out of nowhere in the second room he was leaving. Being shot in the back by a crossbow sounded painful.

The third room was much larger, with two pillars supporting it in the middle. There were about four crates tossed around the room, which Michael had Pathfinder open up.

"Nothing... I guess it makes sense. Still... a third empty room with another door leading further. I'm hoping this isn't one of those labyrinth-type Dungeons. I'm not sure I can keep my cool after running from one empty room to another for the next two hours. Pathfinder, open it up!"

The brave Skeleton opened his third door this Dungeon run, and a fourth empty room greeted Michael. Annoyed, he directed the minion toward the next door.

A narrow corridor emerged, and before he could have the time to direct his Skeletons, they had already rushed to pummel another wild brethren of them.

While the four minions were wrecking the poor bastard, two more wild ones appeared from the right side of the corridor, making Michael think there was an opening or something there.

He quickly cast Bone Splinters twice to push them back while ordering his summons to split into groups of two and attack one enemy each.

Not even thirty seconds later, all three enemies were cleaned up. Michael saw a door at the end of the corridor, while there was indeed a small patio with a wooden floor on the right side of the wall.

"Thank the Sanctuary that it doesn't branch out. I'm not in the mood to run around stupidly..."

Noticing that the four Skeletons lost about 5% of their HP each, Michael used Raise Skeletons on one of the Corpses created after downing the enemies to summon a 'Priest,' which healed them up to full. Nodding to himself while cursing at the stingy drops, he had Pathfinder open the next room.

What followed next was another strange room guarded by one wild Skeleton, which was quickly taken care of. Michael didn't bother using his Bone Splinters, as his Essence regeneration wasn't anything to write home about.

It would be a good idea always to keep his skill-casting resources to the max.

"*Sigh* Two doors... I feel like crying already."

The room wasn't much bigger than the third one he entered, but it had two doors next to each other. One led further, while the second was placed on the right wall, probably representing a branching path.

Bracing himself, he had Pathfinder open the branching room while the other three 'Goons' stood ready to storm it.

Michael ducked out of the way as he saw three wild Skeleton Archers through Pathfinder's bones. It proved a worthwhile endeavor, as two bolts moved in the empty spaces under the minions' rib cages and flew toward his previous position.

Luckily, his summons were stronger and quickly dealt with monsters.

Sensing that there were no other dangers through his connection with the minions, Michael walked in to see an enclosed room the size of a bathroom with three Corpses within.

"I just realized, but this Corpse innate skill of mine makes absolutely no sense. The enemy was only bones, without any flesh, but suddenly, a perfectly usable Corpse appeared after its death. Earth logic really has no place in this Sanctuary... Not that I'm complaining."

Taking about a minute to use Raise Skeleton three times in a row, Michael made sure to top up the HP of his summons before proceeding any further. They took damage about 20 to 30% of their total Life due to the arrows' pierce damage.

He was worried about meeting enemies that carried hammers since everyone knew that blunt damage was the weakness of Skeletons.

Pathfinder did his job, and Michael entered the sixth main room, only to be greeted by another small corridor and a treasure chest.

"Damn! Nice! Goon No. 1, you open it up this time."

Michael was a bit worried that his Pathfinder might have low Luck stats, so he had one of the Goons do it instead.

Two 'Potion Orbs' and about 50 gold coins dropped from the treasure chest before it disappeared.

"Uhm... let's write it down as 'inconcludent' regarding the Luck stat for now. I can't tell if this is better than what Pathfinder opened up on top of the tower... It's all a matter of circumstances. Anyways... Pathfinder! Onwards!"

Michael realized belatedly that his nervousness was all but gone and wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. After all, so far, the enemies were relatively weak.

Deciding to keep up his guard so that he didn't get caught with his pants down, he had his summons rush into the next open room.

Another regular Warrior Skeleton and two Archers stood ready to fight, forcing Michael to use his Bone Splinters to interrupt the ranged enemies' attack.

When the last Archer fell, he also leveled up; the displaced air around him actually killed a fourth wild Skeleton emerging behind his back.

"Motherfucker! I knew this Dungeon was poisonous! On what basis did he suddenly spawn behind me!? Also, does leveling up damage enemies? If so, what's the damage like? How much and what type?"

With more questions than answers, Michael was unsure what to make of the situation. So, instead, he opened up his Skill Tree. Without prolonging the inevitable any longer, he picked up Blight as his first Core Skill.

The reasoning behind the choice was quite simple. He would pick between this and Bone Spear, but unlike in games, there was a minor issue regarding the usage of these ranged skills.

"They could miss... If Bone Spear misses, then it's wasted Essence, and I have to try again. Blight, however, generates an area that deals DOT to whatever is inside it. Also, after much experimentation, Bone Splinters doesn't use up Essence, but it should generate it just like the description says. Combined, these two skills are the best current choice."

Since he had his Skeletons to storm the front, he would throw a Blight and then spam Bone Splinters.

That way, he would deal damage while also regenerating Essence. It was the best idea. He also picked this skill because of the geographical configuration of this Dungeon so far.

"I can simply aim the Blight at the ground before a door entrance and have my summons block it. Pathfinder can draw enemy aggro and bring them inside the defiled area while the three Goons keep them at bay. As for myself, I will throw Bone Splinters from the back, enjoying the most secure position."

With the plan made, it was time to field test it. The bravest Skeleton in the group opened one of the two doors leading to the next room and walked forward.

By peeking from behind the Goons, Michael could see a dimly lit room, seemingly empty if not for the two barrels by the right side of the wall.

Shrieks followed, and he was momentarily scared as five or so small demons rushed toward my brave Pathfinder.

[ Fallen (Minion) - Level 8 ]

Recognizing they were the same berserk and unafraid of death creatures that attacked the party that summoned Lilith, he had Pathfinder retreat while a cast of Blight was thrown at one of the barrels, staying in the way of the incoming demons.

The skill activated, and he instantly lost 1/4 of the total Essence. Fortunately, his guess was proven correct by the explosion of the damned barrel, making the second one close to his brave summon explode as well.

Poor Pathfinder was thrown like a ragdoll toward the Goons, who mercilessly watched him fall next to their feet. Such terrible companions...

"Hmm... 40% of his HP is gone from that explosion. Except for some cracks in his bones, there are no missing limbs or similar stuff that would incapacitate him. As for the five demonlings... unsurprisingly dead."

From this round of experimentation, he decided to sit as far as possible from chests, barrels, and other crates in Dungeons.

A Skeleton summoned from the use of Essence and the bullshit of the Sanctuary was sturdy enough to be okay after taking such a blast at almost point blank, but he would undoubtedly lose limbs, eyes, hearing, or other functions might be impaired.

Finding no need to risk his life when his minions could do it for him, Michael continued forward once the burning crap inside the barrels was extinguished.

Unfortunately, his worst fears were realized as the room branched into three directions.

"I knew it was coming, but it still pisses me off. Well then... onwards it is! We only move forward!"

With Pathfinder getting his command, he moved forward as Michael watched his Essence return to 80/100. He would naturally gain Essence thanks to his Willpower stat.

Also, since he just leveled up, the attributes went up.

[ Attack Power: 133

Armor: 167

Life: 48

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

Strength: 16

Intelligence: 17

Willpower: 18

Dexterity: 21 ]

His Willpower increased his resource generation by 1.8%, and after counting the time using the clock the Sanctuary added through the Quest, he noticed that he gains about 1 Essence point per minute.

"That's not bad, though; I need to see how much I can gain from Bone Splinter's usage. Heh... and I just got the perfect targets."

The system listed the names of the monsters above their heads, as well as their HP. They were still Skeletons but had a shield and sword.

"Skeleton Capitans. Why is their HP blue instead of red?"

Shrugging, he threw two casts of Bone Splinters but was surprised to see the two Captains block them using the shields.

Before he had time to be amazed and scared, he noticed that almost half of the blue light covering their health bars had disappeared, revealing the standard red color.

"A barrier due to the shields? Or maybe it is an innate skill these Captains possess? Oh! I also gained 14 Essence, meaning this basic skill generates resources. Then..."

Not willing to take any chances, Michael threw Blight at the incoming enemies, hitting them both because they walked side-by-side. Seeing his dropping Essence bar, he immediately cast Bone Splinters four times, returning it to 95/100.

The enemies were dead before his summons could engage them, but he was more impressed by the balance between Basic and Core skills.

Plans were formulated in his mind as he walked to the Corpses of his two dead enemies, using Raise Skeleton twice to heal up Pathfinder back to 80%.

"I have to admit that the enemies are quite sparse and weak, though, it's to be expected since it's my first Dungeon. The system wouldn't exactly throw me into an impossible-to-win situation. Probably..."

Seeing the measly ten gold dropped, Michael shook his head in dismay and continued onward. The room turned to the left, and Michael had all four minions explore.

A good idea, as they were instantly besieged by four normal Skeletons, one Archer shooting with a crossbow, and a Captain leading the charge.

Michael immediately intervened and threw Blight twice, once at the Archer and once at the Captain. His minions blocked the Captain, forcing him and the other four wild Skeletons to take damage from the defiled area.

At the same time, he cast Bone Splinters repeatedly, ending the Archer before he could shoot a second time. From then on, the issue was handled, and he only had to spam Bone Splinters to recover his Essence to full.

"The minions only took about 40% damage, but it shows how brittle they are. If there were double the number of enemies, they would be easily destroyed. From now on, I must remember to use Raise Skeleton each time after killing an enemy. That way, I can keep their Life up and buff them with the increased 15% Attack Speed."

Although he was on a timer and the Quest took priority, Michael still experimented with his skills and different battle strategies.

Pathfinder went to open another treasure chest, and his boss watched as two more Potion Orbs dropped alongside 12 gold coins and a pair of Hide Pants.

"Same as the Tunic, they are pretty trash, but I'll consider it spares. Onto the next room, my faithful minions!"

Laughing stupidly, Michael watched as his summons entered the next room and were greeted by a bolt. Hurrying to dispose of the Archer, he froze at seeing a three-meter-tall Skeleton carrying a sword taller than regular men.

The Sanctuary identified the creature with the name Dreadful Skeleton. Realizing that this was either a small boss or an Elite monster, Michael immediately lobbed a Blight out of instinct at it.

Unfortunately, he forgot about the Archer, and a bolt found its way into his left shoulder. The shitty bolt didn't penetrate Martel's creation, but the impact hurt just the same.

"Piece of shit!"

Yelling in frustration, Michael identified the fucker and threw another Blight at it. Then, three more casts of Bone Splinters killed it for good. He didn't hesitate to use Raise Skeleton on the Corpse generated, buffing and healing his minions.

Michael turned just in time to see the tall-as-fuck Skeleton take a wide swing and push his summons back, then point his weapon at the ceiling.

Having a bad feeling, he carefully looked at the monster and saw it summon three bloody diagrams on the floor.

One was under his minions, one was under his feet, and the other one was blocking his path to retreat into the previous room.

"This fucker!"