CH10: Loot!

Pieces of the zombie were peeling off from Burst, revealing an oozing brain made of thousands of writhing green maggots. Those same maggots were threaded through the monster's muscles like nerves sparking to the naked eye. At this point, I wasn't looking at traditional necromancy; this was entomancy, the control of insects.

It stumbled after me on a bum leg. My left leg hurt like hell from the bite from earlier and the light grapple from Goliath. So I wasn't doing so hot either, but I could still move without my leg buckling under my weight. All that muscle came with some downsides.

"Burst," I yelled and moved in. The lumbering monster grabbed for me but was too slow. It was heavy and needed its legs to move quickly. I landed three blows to its chest in quick succession and stepped back. There was no need to be greedy.

More of the zombie's body rotted away when I punched its flailing arm. Muscle sloughed off it revealing wiggling worms wrapped around the bone. Where I punched, the body started melting away. I aimed for the shoulders and sides of the elbows until the arms fell away uselessly. The monster glared at me, impotent, as I ripped my spear out of the monster's leg.

Its single eye glared at me as I drove my spear through it.

"I think I only need two more to level up. Dungeon, can I have a new spear?" I asked.

Something yellow glowed in the massive goop the zombie dissolved into. That could only mean I had a new rarity. I rubbed my hands together; maybe it was something good.

I felt something to my left and saw a small scroll with a shield wax seal on the ground. The dissolving goo would take a little longer to reveal the new drops.

The scroll came from the corpse of the necromancer or possibly entomancer.

Paladin Class ability/spell scroll

Drop Potential: Common – Super Rare

Abilities 1-10

1. Stinger: Rare

2. Charge: Uncommon

3. Shout: Common

4. Rally: Common

5. Parry: Common

6. Ride: Uncommon

7. Heavy Armor Proficiency: Uncommon

8. Sword Proficiency: Common

9. Spear Proficiency: Common

10. Crossbow Proficiency: Uncommon

Spells 11-20

11. Thorns: Rare

12. Capture: Common

13. Brand: Uncommon

14. Magic Weapon: Uncommon

15. Shield: Common

16. Barrier: Rare

17. Tame Steed: Uncommon

18. Locate Object: Common

19. Truth Ward: Uncommon

20. Spirit Shroud: Super Rare

I didn't hesitate to open the scroll. A 20-sided die rolled in my head and stopped on a 12.

Capture: Summon chains to subdue enemies and turn them into allies

Capture Rate: 1D10 + INT VS enemy HP + Resist Roll

Capture Bonus: +1D10 x (INT/10 rounded to the whole number.)

Cost: 15MP

Cool Down: N/A

That solved so many problems and added many more. I needed a buyer for any captures I might get and a way to transport them. There needed to be a whole infrastructure to make money by subduing enemies.

The orange glow took back my attention before I could fall down a rabbit hole.

I came to what he thought was an epic, rare item but was instead a suitcase glowing faintly orange.

Mystery Box C – UR

Description: Any weapon, armor, or item the dungeon has created or collected can appear in this box, from a rock to a dragon's egg. Open it and see for yourself.

Bonus 1: Gaining Epic or above gear has a chance to increase luck.

Bonus 2: Every 10 opened will guarantee an epic drop.

I flipped open the box, and a dark orange light filled my vision. It was a spear but not like what I found before. Its glow wasn't the faint orange of the box but a deep red. The spear was black, fully made of metal, and twisted on the end nearest the head. There were two prongs instead of one, and strange engravings covered the weapon. From tip to butt, its length was a comfortable 8ft. I had never seen something so dangerous and delicate in appearance.

Double Helix lvl1+: A spear made of heaven-defying materials, this weapon will evolve with its user. Merge with Sefirot and Qliphoth to awaken its true power.

Pierce DMG: 50 - 175 + DEX

Stat DMG Bonus: +1D10 x (DEX/ 10 rounded)

+15 DEX

+10 to all Stats

Weapon lvl can be improved

Free Weapon Ability Slots: 3/3

Value: 2,000 Credits

Requirements:

10 Epic Weapon Shards

100 Rare Weapon Shards

1000 Common Weapon Shards

1 T2 Beast Core

This was absurd and in my favor. It was about time some good luck came my way. I pulled the spear out, and it felt perfect in my hand. The boss before had around 75 health and lots of DEF; if I had something like this weapon, I could have won with one hit. That meant it was time to power level.

Instead of moving deeper into the dungeon, I retreated and slew a few weak undead. Thanks to them, I was finally up to level 2 and took a look at my stats.

Gold Fiber

Integration T1 2/5

All stats +0.1 to modifier per Integration lvl.

Spells cooldown time +5% more and have +5% more spell effect with each integration level.

At Integration 1/5 +2 Spell Slots

At Integration 2/5 +2 Ability Slots

At Integration 3/5 +3 Spell Slots

At Integration 4/5 +3 Ability Slots

At Integration 5/5 +5 Spell Slots

Cost:

1. Defeat 1 mana-rich enemy.

2. Defeat 10 mana-rich enemies.

3. Defeat 100 mana-rich enemies.

4. Defeat 1000 mana-rich enemies

5. Defeat 10,000 mana-rich enemies.

Vincent Hawk lvl1

HP 35/35

MP 30/30

SP 25/25

Stats Weapon MOD

STR 13 +11 x1.2

CON 16 +19 x1.2

END 15 +10 x1.2

DEX 18 +25 x1.2

PER 12 +10 x1.2

INT 20 +10 x1.2

WIS 18 +10 x1.2

CHA 15 +10 x1.2

LUK 19 +10 x1.2

Free Spell Slots: 1/3

Free Ability Slots: 3/3

Spells

Tier 1: Burst

Tier 1: Capture

It was funny; I could feel the power rushing through my body; sounds were clearer, like the dripping water from a vent leading to an upper level. There was fresh air coming in through the labyrinth of tunnels. If I followed my nose, I knew it would lead me out. My muscles felt tight in my gambeson, and I didn't get tired as easily.

Once I felt I had a handle on my increases from my level up and the stat gains the dungeon delivered, I went through the boss room. Something stuck to me the second I hit the greater dungeon. It wasn't the stretches of ritual rooms covered in dry blood, biting insects poking at the gaps in my armor, or the groaning zombies. No, it was the smell of fresh blood in the air. I could tell the difference despite the smell of rot. Fresh blood smelled so different than the rotting bodies that it stood out. I knew it was a dumb thing to do, but I made a beeline toward the scent. Like one of the undead myself, I targeted the living.