‘Tower of Challenge’ Level 1

It seemed like he wasn't the first person who had this idea because when he entered the shop which was specialized in selling tools for craftsmen and handymen, he found that many of these tools which could be used as weapons were already sold out.

There were no more axes left on display and even chain saws had been completely sold out. He saw one attendant explaining to a customer which of the two saws that were still available was better.

While he made his way over, the customer decided to just buy both.

"Welcome, how may I help you?", the attendant who had just finished selling both saws, greeted Ivan.

"Hello, I'm looking for something that could be used as a weapon.", he asked. In normal times this not only would have gotten him a weird look, but also a call to the police. But it wasn't normal times. Everyone was looking for weapons to go into the dungeon.

The attendant looked apologetic and told him, "I'm sorry but we have already sold everything that could be used as a weapon. The only thing even remotely usable are some of the gardening knives."

Ivan was unwilling to just give up and look somewhere else. He had the feeling that there might be no use to do so. Worse, he would need time to reach another store and then that store would surely have been sold out as well.

With no other choice, he told the attendant," Then I'll take the longest one."

The attendant nodded happily. He had sold more today than during all his time working at the store.

He left and soon returned with a knife that had a blade of about 15cm and a gummy grip. It was usually used to cut plants but would now be repurposed as a weapon for Ivan's first dungeon run.

After paying the 50 dollars for the knife, something he normally would absolutely be unwilling to pay for a simple knife, he left the store and went back to his dorm room.

'If only we had some long kitchen knives.', he bemoaned. With nobody in their dorm even remotely talented in cooking they had never bothered to buy even the simplest set of knives for their kitchen.

Now that he had gotten a weapon it was time to select his wardrobe. There wasn't really much choice. Some long pants and a leather jacket had to do. Luckily, he still had some solid boots. They were his footwear of choice since they were extremely durable and cost-effective.

Having now gathered all his equipment it was time to get started. Someone else might have waited for others to share their experience on the internet first, but he was unwilling to give a lead to others. So, the only way to go was to just directly start his adventure.

He selected the first level of the 'Tower of Challenge' in his dungeon browser and choose to be teleported into it.

[[ Welcome to the 'Tower of Challenge' Level 1 'Goblin Cave'. ]]

A popup greeted him as soon as the blue light from the teleportation had vanished. He now found himself inside a seemingly natural cave, which was only dimly lighted by some glowing moss on the ceiling and wands.

[[ This is your first time entering a dungeon. You have acquired a 'Starter Packet'. ]]

Before he had even time to truly look around another prompt appeared and from nowhere a small silver box appeared in front of him. It was hovering before him and should be the 'Starter Packet.

He stretched out his hand and took the packet. There was a small indenture at the top, just large enough for him to press his thumb into it. This should be the way of opening it.

He first took a look around to check if there were any signs of danger and only after failing to find anything, which looked even remotely dangerous he focused his sight on the small box. He carefully pressed his thumb into the indenture and the box started to once again hover in front of him.

It then slowly opened while increasing in size at the same time.

Now the box had become a silvery plate hovering in the air. On it, three items were displayed. A tube containing a red liquid, another small box, and a card.

Ivan didn't know what to think about the content, since he was unable to identify the use of these items, but he was now happy that he had spent that 50 dollars to buy that knife. None of these items even remotely looked like a weapon. Well maybe the box could be some kind of weapon but he thought that to be highly unlikely.

He first took the tube into his hands to get some more information about it. As soon as his hand touched it a screen popped up inside his view.

[[ Item: Health Pack

Usages: 1

Description: A powerful healing solution stored inside an injector. By injecting it into a body it can speedily heal all kinds of wounds.

Remark: This cannot be used to regrow body parts.

]]

He carefully read through the description and was happy. Who wouldn't want something that could heal all kinds of wounds, when he was just about to go into battle? Of course, it sucked that there was only one usage but it could still be of huge importance.

He carefully stored the 'Health Pack' inside his inner jacket pocket and then took the next item into his hands.

[[ Item: Nanite Assembling Tool

Grade: 1F

Usages: Unlimited (5 Energy Packs per usage)

Description: A powerful tool, that uses nanites to decompose materials to build things if a compatible blueprint and materials are provided.

Remark: As a low-grade assembling tool, it has many blueprints it cannot use.

]]

The next item was the small box which seemed to be a 'Nanite Assembling Tool'. Ivan wasn't completely sure as to what it did and how it worked, but if he understood the description correctly, he could provide it with the material, energy packs, and a blueprint to make it craft the item the blueprint was for.

It was something that didn't have any value currently but it was an entry point into tool crafting, so it should be extremely useful later on.

Now it was time for him to take a look at the last item, the card. As soon as his hands touched the card, not only appeared a new prompt in his field of view, but the silvery plate also vanished.

[[ Material: Crystal Diamond Lattice

Grade: 3B

Description: A valuable material that is often used to produce nanites. (Your current knowledge is insufficient to get more information.)

]]

Although this seemed to be worth the most, it was also the most useless item in his current situation. There was nothing he could do with this material. Disappointed, he could only store it in his bag.

Now that he had looked at everything he had gotten from the 'Starter Packet', it was time to challenge this dungeon.

Having played many RPGs and MMORPGs before he was aware that he shouldn't just rush forward. Instead, he started to carefully look around the room he was currently in.