Man-made dungeon (1)

"Time to spin two more times.."

Rrrrrrr- Ding!

However..

This time, the reward was different.

「 You have acquired an item named 'Tankman's leather Chestplate(E)' from the Roulette Wheel 」

"Not bad.."

I spun the wheel another time, hoping for another armor piece.

Tick.. tick.. tick! Ding!— 

「 Jackpot! 」

Excitement painted my face after the reward was revealed.

「 You have acquired an item named 'Leather Speed Boots(D)' 」

"Woah.."

I felt happy to receive another piece of armor.

To be honest,

'I didn't expect this as a reward.'

I checked the two items descriptions.

「 Item - Tankman's Leather Chestplate 」

「 Grade - E 」

「 A piece of a rusty old Chestplate which helps protect the bearer from a normal weapons sharp edge. It was made to be tossed into the garbage but was useful for the Tankman's child when he grew up. 」

「 When the item is worn, the bearer is granted [+2 Defence]. 」

The description described it to be pretty basic so I ignored it.

My eyes wandered to the useful reward.

"This is a jackpot.."

「 Item - Leather Speed Boots 」

「 Grade - (D) 」

「 A simple pair for boots which helps to keep the bearer slightly faster than usual. It used to be used to steal from others and escape in time. 」

"Let's ignore this as well and look at..."

「 When the item is worn, the bearer is granted [+3 Agility]. 」

"This will be very useful for the dungeon.."

Why?

It was simple.

'I remember Aree telling me that the dungeon's requirements were having only two stats that were twenty and over.'

No more or no less.

The reason being that the dungeon would induce a penalty if someone is over the limit,

Or not let them in at all if they didn't meet the requirements.

"But, if my agility, which is my highest stat, meets the requirements.."

—My agility would just increase even more.

I switched the game panel off.

The tip of my finger touched the screen multiple times until..

— 

「 Xela 」

「 Strength 21 」 「 Agility 21 」

「 Stamina 19 」 「 Mana 18 」

「 Defense 16 」 「 Luck 11 」

「 Main Class: Thunder Disciple 」

「 Sub Class: None 」

「 Unique Ability: [Unlocks when all stats are at least 20] 」

「 Skill - Focus (D) 」

「 Skill - Spearmanship lvl.2 」

「 Skill - Lightning bolt lvl. 1 」

「 Skill - Lightning Manipulation lvl. 2 」「 Skill - Absolute Precision(B) 」

「 Skill - Aerobic Endurance lvl.1 」

「 Skill - Pain Endurance lvl.2 」

— 

"Phew.."

I closed the status window after looking at the number of screens that I had overloaded my brain with information.

Click— 

The door was unlocked and Aree walked back in.

"Are you ready?"

She asked with her usual oblivious attitude which I missed.

I faced her direction.

"Yes, I am."

I smile.

Then-

"Before you get overconfident, the dungeon is nowhere near as easy as my training."

The smile lines disappeared from my face, almost instantaneously.

The words acted as a trigger.

I knew what she meant.

'After all, if she called this easy..'

Then it must mean that it was going to be hell inside the dungeon.

"Even if it's made by a man..", I mutter to myself.

"Then, take me to the dungeon.."

I finish stretching and glare at her.

"Okay, Almighty one's dog!"

My face vented up with anger but I held it in,

Once again.

* * *

"Here it is."

The dark-elf and I both stood next to each other.

The decently-sized hill towered over us both.

But it still wasn't that tall.

'To the bare eye, all that can be seen is a perfectly normal hill..'

To account for this fact, the hill had grass and trees on top.

But...

"The place where it is placed doesn't work at all."

All that was around it were a forest of trees and the plains covered by a few bushes.

Specifically,

'It was too strange.'

I stopped observing the area and turned to face Aree.

"So, how do we uncover the man-made dungeon?"

She smiled back to my questioning look.

"It's simple."

The look on her face looked heavily suspicious.

I knew that she was up to no good.

She grabbed my collar.

"Huh?"

"Enjoy your stay."

And threw me at the stone wall.

"Hey! W-wait-"

"Oh, and don't die."

But.

Instead of expecting my head to be hurt by the impact of the hills wall,

"What?"

I slowly opened my eyes to see myself inside the dungeon.

I wiped the dust off my shoulders and looked at the ancient scriptures all over the walls.

They were subtle but still visible.

In front of me it looked like a normal cave, ignoring the scriptures..

—But that fact was thrown out the window.

「 You have entered the Man-made dungeon '???'s heart' 」

「 Checking user 'Xela' and their requirements.. 」

「 User 'Xela' meets the requirements. 」

「 Closing dungeon exit 」

Oh great.

'Well, I had expected this.. even for a man-made version.'

All thanks to my research.

Although,

「 You cannot logout until you clear the dungeon. 」

"I wasn't expecting this.."

A piece of sweat trickled down my face as I gulped at the notification nervously.

'Usually, when a user enters the dungeon, they have the option to leave.'

Even if you lose the chance to enter again and any rewards permanently.

But this was different.

I had no option.

'I guess that post was right.'

And,

"I also regret this a lot."

I claimed my nerves just as I had done with the many situations I had encountered previously.

All of them were overcome with incredible hard work.

"This time won't be any different either.."

I walked further into the cave.

Noises entered my ears.

No, perhaps, noises would be a complete exaggeration.

'Hm?'

I peeked behind the wall and saw a single manikin.

"A.. manikin..?"

I felt curious and decided to move forward, knowing that there weren't any other paths.

My footsteps sounded throughout the cave.

It was the only noise that could be heard other than the deafening silence.

The manikin suddenly turned and dashed at me.

'Oh great..'

I took out my spear and slashed the side.

But I was too startled.

'Tch..'

The wood was only slightly cut.

The manikin used this opportunity as it punched my chest.

I felt the impact.

It was too strong.

Crash!— 

My back thumped against the stone wall.

"Kaah..!"

The manikin continued running at me.

If I didn't move, I would be at a greater disadvantage.

So my instincts reacted and I tossed my body aside.

Crush!— 

I calmed down.

The human-shaped wooden object was only inches away from me after using the wall as a way to leap towards me.

But I had already figured out the situation.

"Hmph!"

I grunted as my spear slashed upwards with perfect precision.

The manikin almost fainted.

"I'm not letting you off that easily!"

My other hand reached out to its almost carved face.

「 Lightning Manipulation lvl.2 activated. 」

Lightning surrounded its face.

Crackle!— 

I continuously burnt the manikin until it fell to the floor.

Flat on its back.

"Huuu..."

「 Your [Lightning Manipulation] efficiency has increased. 」

'How irritating..'

I sighed and turned to look at the spot where the wooden statue originally was.

The only difference was that,

Wooosh!— 

There were two more manikins waiting for me.