The Mask of The Dark Abyss Mage
<Level 14 Dungeon Detected>
<Level is Low. Enter Anyways?> <Yes / No>
"No" Link scratched his nose.
Link was standing near a giant wall, separating him from the luscious forest on the other side. Activating 'Dungeon Search' inside his room bore no fruit. So he decided to get as close to the forest as he could and see if he was lucky enough to detect it there.
<Why did you refuse to enter?>
"If I did enter and the professors and students were there. Don't you think they'd ask how i got there? And then I'll be questioned by the Mages Guild after successfully leaving regarding how I got inside and will be suspected of sneaking out. I can't have that happen, if i was given a choice, i'd let them rot inside the dungeon before i put myself in that situation" Link explained. He was planning on helping them leave but he wouldn't risk getting expelled or have an even worse fate for them.
<What are you planning to do then?>
"I need a mask" Link said. He opened the shop, going through the Masks Section. He found a lot of options, but most of them required resources he would not be able to acquire at the moment.
<Why not buy it from one of the shops in Town?>
"Can't. Then I will be recognized. They would describe my mask and I most definitely will get exposed with the simplest of investigations" Link said as he scrolled through.
"Zero, can you help me?" Link asked.
<With what?>
"I need a mask that I can make with materials I already have or stuff I can get my hands on for cheap from the stores" Link was getting nowhere. The masks were abundant but most of the materials were things he had never heard of.
<Ok, give me a second>
The Window in front of Link's face started shifting. The Masks started to slowly reduce until 5 masks were left.
Looking at them closer Link noticed that 4 of them were of bad quality. Stuff like iron, leather and whatnot.
Link didn't care much though. All he needed was something he could use to hide his identity for this simple semi-rescue mission and then he wouldn't really need it after.
The first two were simple blank white masks with holes in them. Each looked the same but were made of different materials.
The third mask looked like a hockey mask made of wood. "This is like the Mask Jason from Friday the 13th wore. I'm not trying to scare them. Next"
The fourth one looked like a fancy mask made of gold. It had carved in facial features with decorations. "I'm not buying gold. F*ck that.. Next"
The last but not least was something that shocked Link.
In the needed Materials bar one of the ingredients was colored green instead of gray. Indicating that Link had that specific Material in his possession.
<Black Demon Core>
"What?" Link muttered.
<I picked that one with the rest because you already had the rare material. As we've read demons rarely drop Cores since they are not Magical Beasts. But you were lucky enough to fight a Shapeshifter and have enough luck to actually get a drop. The rest of the ingredients are simple Mana Crystals and some black obsidian.>
"This is unexpected, but the other Materials are not cheap either Zero" Link continued "Plus, that Core was with me for a long time, do you really think using it now is a good idea?" He asked.
<Did you see the rarity of the Mask or not?>
"No, I haven't" Link said, opening the Mask's Window.
<The Mask of The Dark Abyss Mage> <Epic>
The color of the Name was Purple. Link raised his brow in amazement. He kept reading.
*****
<Dark Abyss Mage Set> <0 / 5>
<Life Steal 5%>
<Critical Hit 10%>
<Life Steal 10%>
<Magic Damage +15%>
<Damage Absorption 20%>
*****
<Grants the User the 'Phantom Eyes' Skill>
<Magical Resistance +5%>
*****
Link noticed that he could press on the 'Dark Abyssal Set' name, and when he did a List of different items appeared. There was a Ring, a Necklace, a set of Armor and a Staff. Each bearing the name of the Dark Abyss Mage.
"This is a part of a set. Awesome" Link muttered under his breath. He clicked the mask again and saved it.
He headed towards the stores. Buying all the Materials he needed for the crafting.
...
<Black Demon Core>
<2 Black Obsidian Ingots>
<5 Mana Crystals>
<Red Demon Flower>
These Materials sat in Link's Inventory. He looked at them with tears in his eyes "My Points" he spoke, feeling depressed.
He lifted his hand and pressed craft. The screen turned into the icon of an anvil with a hammer slamming on it, sending sparks flew in all directions. Underneath it was a countdown.
<1 Minute and 56 Seconds Remaining>
The numbers kept going down. Link laid on his bed looking at the animation.
Ding!
<Crafting Successful>
<Item added to Inventory>
<Achievement Unlocked: Craftsman>
<Achievement Unlocked: Purple Item>
<Achievement Unlocked: Set Items>
<Reward: 3 000 Exp>
"Free Exp. Great" Link smiled. He opened his Inventory and saw the Mask sitting there. He pulled it out and wore it.
As the Mask settled on his face, Link could not feel it. His vision was clear and with no hindrance. It was like he had nothing at all on his face.
The mask had the shape of a demonic skull. Thin black flames radiated from the top.
"Very comfortable" He said.
<Alright, are you ready?>
"Yeah" Link wore a random set of old clothes, moved near the wall and put the mask on, he took a deep breath then activated his 'Dungeon Search' Skill.
<Level 14 Dungeon Detected>
<Level is Low. Enter Anyways?> <Yes / No>
"Yes" Link didn't hesitate.
<Connecting..>
<Connection established>
<Transporting..>
Link's vision became blurry for a bit. It was a familiar feeling from his old World. A wave of nostalgia and sadness washed over him.
"Mom, Liz. I hope you're doing ok" Link muttered to himself.
As he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a room lit with nothing but Torches. Its floor and ceiling were made of stone. Spider webs stationed everywhere.
<First Room: Cleared>
Link read the message and smiled. This confirmed that people have been through here.
As he walked through the rooms, he read the Clear messages around 9 times before stopping in front of a giant hall.
"The Boss room" Link muttered.
"Who's there?" A voice echoed through the hall "Professor, there's someone here" It sounded excited.
A boy around the same age as Link ran up to him, his eyes glowing with happiness.
"Thank the gods. Friend, we've been stuck in this odd place for a few days, can you please lead us out from where you came?" He asked, still running towards him.
As the boy got closer and managed to get a better look at Link, he stopped in his tracks.
"What is that?" He muttered to himself. In the dimly lit area, Link's Mask was a frightening visual. The boy was startled a bit.
"Did your group kill the boss in this room?" Link asked.
"Y..yes" The boy answered.
"Was there a crystal shaped ball stationed at the end of this hall?" Link asked again, trying to change his voice, or at least make it unrecognizable.
"A crystal Ball?" The boy continued "Yes. We thought it might hold some answers about this place. So professor Watson is studying it"
"It is the Mana structure of this place. Break it if you wish to leave" As Link finished his words, he activated 'Shadow Walk' and 'Ambush' Making him disappear without a trace.
"What the hell?" The boy said. Running back, heading towards the end of the hall.
He met up with 2 men and another boy of his age. He told them about his encounter and took them to where he met the scary looking fellow.
"Jack, you expect us to believe that?" The other boy said "This situation must be getting to your head"
Jack frowned. He tried over and over again to convince them of his encounter but his words were dismissed as mere hallucinations.
...
<Well that didn't go as planned>
"You think" Link frowned. He was unsure with how to interact with them. And his small attempt ended up in failure. He headed back to the First room and waited for the countdown of his Skill to finish before going back to that hall and try again.
The group sat together this time. Jack obviously was a bit scared, thinking that he encountered some sort of ghost.
Link seeing the group, he thought of something. He looked at Jack and muttered. "Soul Possession"
He never tried the skill before and this was his chance.
An invisible thread of Soul Energy navigated its way towards Jack. Melting into his body.
Jack perked up, feeling a slight pain in his head. That's when he lost control.
Link could see and feel as if he was Jack. It was odd. His body was still at where he cast the spell unmoving.
"Destroy it" Jack spoke.
"What?" One of the professors asked, frowning.
"Destroy the Crystal if you want to leave" Jack spoke.
The group looked at him in confusion, that's when they saw his eyes.
Argh!
The other boy screamed in terror "GHOST"
Jack's eyes were completely white, making it a terrifying sight. The professors stood up, looking at him.
"Who are you?" One of them asked.
"Doesn't matter. Destroy the Crystal Ball if you wish to leave, or rot here for all eternity" Jack spoke, his eyes twitching.
"Why should we trust you?" The other professor asked.
"If I wished to harm any of you, do you think you can stop me?" Jack said. Reaching to the fire in front of him.
"Stop!"
"Destroy it" Jack said again.
"Ok, ok. We had our suspicions that it was related to this place anyways. I guess this is one way of testing that theory" The professor said.
He grabbed the Ball from his bag and crushed it with his hand.
<Level 14 Dungeon Cleared>
<Reward: 2 000 Exp>
<Achievement Unlocked: Dungeon Conqueror>
<Reward: Escape Dungeon Scroll>
**********************************************************
Thank you for the votes and comments, please keep it up <3
twitter.com/Moncef_Zm
instagram.com/monopia.wn
**********************************************************
Currently :
****
-- Beast Souls :
<Wind Wolf's Beast Soul> <Dagger> <Intermediate Level 1>
<Sky Turtle's Beast Soul> <Armor> <Basic Level 3>
<Ruby Python's Beast Soul> <Glove> <Basic Level 2>
<Water Fox's Beast Soul> <Halo> <Intermediate Level 1>
****
-- Status :
<User: Link>
<Race: Divinity>
<Level 1> <2nd Tier>
<5 000 / 15 000 Exp>
<HP: 55 / 55>
<MP: 2085 / 2085>
<Strength: 13>
<Agility: 15>
<Stamina: 10>
****
-- Skills :
<Shadow Walk> <Active Skill>
<Counter Instinct> <Active Skill> <2>
<Blink> <Active Skill> <1>
<Wind Blade> <Active Skill> <1>
<Consume> <Active Skill>
<Instinct> <Passive Skill>
<Heal> <Active Skill>
<Air Boost> <Active Skill>
<Ambush> <Active Skill> <2> (10 Minutes)
<Heat Vision> <Active Skill> (1 Minute)
<Soul Possession> <Active Skill>
<Shadow Clone> <Active Skill>
<Dungeon Search> <Active Skill>
****
-- Martial Arts :
<Viper Sutra> <0 / 200> <2>
<The Story of Genes> <0 / 2 000> <3> <Apex Predator>
****
-- Quests :
<Main Quests :>
<Reach Level 10> <Second Tier>
****