Chapter 8 - Fear for the Future

I had levels, it was an odd thought. I had been young once, who was I kidding, I was still pretty young. The point was I had played plenty of video games that included levels.

The level of my dungeon didn't really mean much to me, more things I could access but it didn't mean the same as having my own levels. The reason? With levels came attributes. Attributes that could make me stronger, faster, smarter, and... wait. Was there magic? My tools seemed like they were magical and nothing about this world seemed to make sense. Was this some kind of fantasy world? Would I be able to cast spells?

"Deep breaths." Vanessa told me watching me worriedly.

She must have thought I was freaking out, I wasn't, I was incredibly excited. Probably too excited. I took a few deep breaths to calm down. I couldn't spazz out right now. Going full nerd in front of a beautiful woman would be shame me for at least a few minutes.

"Better?" she asked me.

I nodded then smiled at her. "So I have levels." I stated.

Vanessa eyed me warily for a moment but my grin never faded. Eventually she relaxed when she realized I wasn't pissed. "Yes, you have levels." she agreed.

"You guys are marketing this whole thing the wrong way." I told her. "There are tons of people in my world who would sign up for this place if they knew they could gain control of a base and gain levels." I told her.

Vanessa stared at me surprised. "Seriously?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yep, we got a lot of people who dream of the chance to live a real life video game where improving has more to do with how well you can kill beasts and monsters than which college you graduated from, or how well you can kiss your bosses ass." I replied with a smirk. "Adding a beautiful aide into the mix, and some might even pay you to come here." I added with a laugh.

Vanessa frowned, "Maybe, I am not a part of marketing, but remember this place is not a game, no matter what Candice thinks. This world is incredibly dangerous, if you die here you will not wake up in a game pod." Vanessa told me obviously worried.

I nodded then finished reaching for the giant mouse touching it and running my hand through the soft looking fur. Oddly enough it really was as soft to the touch as it looked.

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Absorb Giant Mouse?

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The prompt that appeared in my vision surprised me. The screens had only appeared in front of me when I was working with the core in the shack.

"You should absorb it." Vanessa told me. "It probably doesn't say it, but absorbing the bodies of beasts and monsters will give you a blueprint of them so you can summon them as a minion or guardian."

I had no idea if I would ever need mouse minions, but if I had the blueprint of the beast I could probably make a mouse fur blanket. The fur was ridiculously soft, I wasn't so bad I wanted underwear made out of it but a blanket would be amazing.

I shook my head to clear the thoughts. I had no idea where the underwear thought came from, but I remembered the silk boxers I had been gifted once. Those things were amazing, though I think this fur is better.

I shook my head again, I really needed to get off this train of thought.

"Status." I said out loud hoping it would do what I thought it would.

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Name: Jason

Level: 3

Available Points: 10

Strength: 10

Agility: 11

Vitality: 11

Fortitude: 10

Intelligence: 11

Wisdom: 11

Perception: 13

Dexterity: 11

Luck: 13

Charm: 9

Resistant to negative status effects

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Ten attributes? That was a lot. I had ten available points so that must mean I got five a level. I tried to concentrate on a particular attribute to see what information I could get out of it. Nothing.

I was curious about the resistance to negative status effects, was that standard, or did I do something to gain that? Feeding the Neglism came to mind but was that enough to earn a resistance, and how much of a resistance was it?

"You really need to work on these screens, how am I supposed to know what each attribute will do if I put points into them if there isn't any information about the attributes?" I complained.

Vanessa looked a bit uncomfortable. "The company hasn't put much focus into that aspect and left it to what comes naturally with this world." she told me.

I looked over at her. "So your company has nothing to do with my level?" I asked to clarify.

Vanessa shook her head. "No. That is a natural change that comes with arriving on this world." she replied.

Hmmmm, interesting. "I wonder if I should be worried that my luck is an unlucky number." I muttered changing the subject.

I could guess what most of the attributes were based on their name, didn't mean I didn't want more information though. I needed to know if there were links between them, like having a high strength only worked if my fortitude was high enough to handle the increased muscles. I didn't really want to experiment with that if I could help it. This place wasn't exactly swimming in beasts or monsters to raise my level so I could fix any mistakes I made. Though I admit I was less than pleased seeing that my charm was my lowest attribute. I wasn't that bad looking. I was curious if adding all my points into my charm would make Vanessa melt in my hands, but I doubted it. Besides it would be a waste of points better used elsewhere.

"No, for humans of your world ten should be the normal peak while fifteen should be the extreme peak." she told me.

"Huh? Normal peak and extreme peak?" I asked.

"A normal person shouldn't be able to get a score of more than ten in an attribute, however there are those who can surpass that limit with either great genes or hard work. Fifteen should be the absolute highest score you can get on your world." Vaness told me.

Should I tell her most of mine are ten or higher? No not yet.

I stared at Vanessa for a moment then thought 'Status'. Nothing. I guess it was too much to hope I could see her information.

"What else do you know about the attributes?" I asked.

Vanessa frowned not meeting my gaze, "I was more concerned with learning how the dungeon is supposed to operate." she told me.

I sighed, "Your company loses a lot of cores don't they?" I asked.

Vanessa stared at me surprised. "How did you know?" she asked me.

"You focus on farming, and don't give any help to make us stronger, how are they supposed to survive in a dangerous world?" I asked in return.

"Other companies have done it." she muttered.

I groaned. I was getting an idea about the company that she worked for, it might not be a small new company, but this dungeon core thing must be a new project. They probably bought another company's research then dove in head first expecting to make profits right off the bat. Whoever was promoting this project must have a gilded tongue.

"How many other cores have the company sent out?" I asked.

"I can't tell you that." Vanessa replied uncomfortably.

"Were we all placed in the same area?" I asked.

"I can't answer that either." she replied.

I sighed. "So a lot, and we are scattered all over, probably intending to populate the areas where we survive, brutal and inefficient." I commented. "What about your family?" I asked. "If we die, what about them?"

"They will receive a large payout if we fail." Vanessa replied.

"Life insurance. Got it." I said then looked out over the grasslands again my mind racing. This place had huge mice, mice weren't solitary creatures, or was I thinking about rats? Didn't matter there would be more, and I doubted the giant mice were at the top of the food chain. The difficulty my golems had in killing that one lone mouse worried me. It hadn't attempted to break my newbie shield, probably couldn't, but that was on its own. If there was a horde of them, or whatever it was that ate the mice?

I turned my attention back to the prompt and agreed to have the dungeon absorb the giant mouse. It might not be much but it was at least something. Seems like I will need to explore the minions option a bit more. I also needed to take another look at the shop. I had a gut feeling that the hoe wasn't a weapon, and couldn't be used as a weapon. Which would explain the lack of effect my swing had on the mouse, instead of my weak human arm strength.

If that wasn't the case then this place wasn't going to let me live for long.

First though, I needed that shower, and something to eat.

"Come on." I called for Vanessa then headed for the portal down to the next level.

"So what now?" Vanessa asked when we were on the lower level.

"Need that shower." I replied.

"A good idea." she told me. "Though you might want to consider upgrading it for hot water first." she told me.

I frowned then nodded. I wasn't looking forward to an ice cold shower. It would work if that was all I had, but if the upgrade wasn't too expensive I would more than willingly pay for it.

I went into the shack first approaching the core.

"Hey!" Candice said cheerfully appearing beside the core.

"Hey." I replied. I was fairly tired, with all that had happened I forgot that Vanessa's appearance had interrupted my sleep. It was starting to catch up to me.

"Looks like you've been busy." Candice said looking at something only she could see.

"Yep, gotta earn my keep." I replied.

"Is he behaving himself Vanessa?" Candice asked.

"Better than I expected him too." Vanessa replied giving Candice a smile.

I ignored the both of them. I was a man on a mission. Pulling up the shop I started searching for the upgrades to the shack and the restroom. I found it quickly in the general shop, more due to the lack of options than my own skill at navigating the different screens. The price of the heating/cooling element for the shower was only ten iron coins, well within my budget. However I spotted a package deal farther down for one silver, selecting it I saw a tiny house package, it united the shack and restroom into one building, added the water heater/chiller, and threw in a spatial expansion of one to two. The house wouldn't take up any more space than it already did but would increase our livable space significantly. I had the money, but I was loath to use it so quickly. Then I noticed that there was some basic furniture included. Table, chairs, and a wider bed. My comfy bed set was nice, but it would be tight for two. I doubted Vanessa was going to jump into my bed immediately, but I could always hope.

I firmed my resolve and paid for the expansion. Everything changed immediately. The room got bigger while the bathroom connected to the shack, then walls appeared with a door to separate the bathroom from the rest of the room.

"What did you do?" Vanessa asked in the now larger room, it was still pretty small, but much better than a ten feet by ten feet room.

"I bought the tiny house expansion set to give us some more breathing space." I replied.

"That should come with furniture." she commented.

"Probably in the bin." I replied.

Vanessa shook her head and pointed to a counter that had appeared on the side wall near the door to the bathroom. There was a sink and a cabinet set into the small counter. On the counter was a box that looked similar to the bins outside, just smaller. It was barely big enough to fit an overloaded plate of food. "We don't have to go outside to get the furniture or our meals anymore.

Even better. "Great." I told her. "Want to set it up while I get that shower." I told her despite phrasing it like a question.

"Jason!" Candice yelled indignant.

I paused and looked back at her hologram. "I have not had a shower since I got here." I replied seriously.

Candice winced. "Fine, but be nicer in the future." she grumbled.

I rolled my eyes then opened the door and went inside. I was happy to see that the bathroom was even more modern now, almost looked like home. It was smaller than when it was its own building, but that was fine we didn't need a lot of room in the bathroom and that extra room had been transferred to the main room giving us more space to live in.

A knock at the door stopped me from turning on the water.

Before I could open the door Vanessa opened it for me. Locks didn't seem to be included in the tiny house expansion. However seeing what was in her hands, my complaint died in my throat. Apparently locks weren't included, but fluffy towels were. I was starting to see a pattern here.