Chapter 112 - The Beginner's Dungeon (Final Part)

[Basic Tier Beast - Dragon-Hopper]

[A mutation of the Dragonfly and Grasshopper. It has the speed and vision of the Dragonfly, and the power of the Grasshopper]

Lucas looked at it and smirked. He was looking forward to the title activating on its own, but it didn't. His face was now contorted in a different angle, showing the shock and anger he had.

"This damn system! Can't you see that I am exhausted?", he cursed out loud. He heard a chuckle in his head. He was about to snap at Valentine when he saw the front legs of the Dragon-Hopper coming towards him.

He moved a step back and pulled out his dual blades as he wanted to finish this quickly. He quickly tried to chop it off, but it just phased through the hands. Lucas was shocked as soon as he saw this.

"This thing is vibrating at this speed?", he thought and clicked his tongue. He was frustrated, but he was sure now. He changed his sword and activated his weapon's skill, [Flowing-Ice Bind].

Right after activation, the beast was frozen to place. It tried to vibrate out of it but it couldn't vibrate, no matter how much it tried. He then made a slash, and all the limbs were cut off. The beast was left struggling on the ground, and Lucas finished it off. 

He was panting, and he looked at the amount of time he had taken so far. 

[Time elapsed: 01:23:45 seconds]

He was satisfied with the time he had taken so far, but he was worried as he had less than forty-five minutes to finish the dungeon to beat his father. His browsing through the shop came fruitful, and he downed a Recovery potion.

A warmth was felt throughout him, and he felt the energy he had lost return back to him. He was skeptical at first if his energy had increased, but he was sure of it now. His stat increase had indeed made his stamina increase.

And since there was a restriction, he was feeling the backlash of it. But if he could down a recovery potion and restore it, he was sure that he would be able to finish this close to his father's time.

He made his save and went to the elevator. The next four floors were filled with nothing but centipedes. Their hides were weak, and thus slaying them was easy for him. He made past them and into the twentieth floor. The sub-boss this time was not as tough as before and finished it off with his [Cryo-Blaze] skill.

After that, he moved to the next floor, the twenty-first floor. A smell was entering his nose, and he found it annoying. The odor was pungent, and he covered his nose with a cloth he had in his pockets.

"It should not be those nasty things", he thought as he looked past the door. And what he was dreading was right in front of him. There were stink bugs and stink badgers at the same place.

"Two stinkers at the same place? No wonder the stink reached halfway to the top", he muttered under his breath. He tightened the cloth around his nose, and he made sure that he was not inhaling them.

Right after entering, he went on a frenzy. He pulled out the dual blades, and with the [Chains Of Hades] active, he began to kill off every single beast. Some of the stink badgers were preparing to use their move, Corrosive Stink Bomb.

Lucas quickly sensed something and moved out of the way. He saw the smoke and sighed in relief. 

"That could have been the death of me", he thought as he turned around and killed some of the stink bugs. The blood that was leaked from them was stinkier than the stink they released. He killed off everything and moved to the next floor.

The same thing happened on repeat, and he reached the twenty-fifth floor this way. He was now standing in front of a beast that was the boss of this dungeon.

[Basic Tier Beast - Stink Bugger]

[This is a mutation of the stink bug and a skunk. Watch out for its spit and fart, as they are both corrosive]

Lucas was still having a cloth over his nose, and he was thinking about making himself a mask that emits a good smell just to counter situations like these. As soon as he placed his foot on the ground, the beast spits in his direction.

He dodged it by moving to the left and dashed forward. As his stats were nerfed down, he was just at the speed of the best, and he was evenly matched with it. The only way he could overpower it was with his weapons. 

He made a slash towards it, and it used corrosive air to block the attack. As soon as his slash and the corrosive air touched each other, the slash was negated and he was shocked. He then thought of the only way to kill it, and that was to go near it.

"Endure this smell", he thought as he began to charge right into its territory. right after entering, he was counting down his time and slashed off one of its hind legs. It used its tail to balance itself, and released its attack, Corrosive Stink Fart.

Lucas jumped back and quickly dashed out of the place, as he knew that any longer and it would be the death of him. To beat his father, e must stay alive. He was nearing the outside and the fart was chasing him.

He saw that it was impossible to outrun it, and thus activated his [Ice Shield]. He shoved it into the ground, and he began to manipulate the shield. he turned it into an ice dome, and he was hiding inside it. The corrosive fart began to eat away at the ice, and Lucas's time was running out.

As soon as he saw a small hole in the Ice, he broke it apart and ran straight towards its heart.

"Let me see who is faster. My legs or your fart", he muttered as he ran with his sword held straight. The moment he entered its territory, it released a fart once again. Lucas didn't stop, and he pierced his sword right through its heart.

His skin was beginning to feel tingly, and he was sure that he would die in a few moments. Right after killing the beast, he went towards the typewriter and wrote his name swiftly. A potion appeared out of thin air, and he downed it in an instant.

"Phew. That was close. If I had hesitated at the last second, I would have been dead", he thought as he looked at the beast behind him. A book began to float in front of him and a feather appeared.

[Congratulations! You have cleared the Beginner's Dungeon]

[You have set a new record!]

[Previous record time: 02:12:30 seconds]

[New Record Time: 02:10:45 seconds]

Lucas smiled as he saw the record he had set. Although it was just by minutes, he was happy that he was now a step closer to becoming strong and near his father. As soon as the book closed, he felt his body being sucked out of the dungeon. The force was too much, and he closed his eyes.

The next moment, he was at the same place he had entered the place from. He was sure that the portal must have opened up and let him out. That was the only plausible explanation he had. 

He then looked around and saw no one next to him. A sigh escaped his lips, and he took the seat that he was during the morning. It was night time, and he needed to get back home soon. There were no trains, and thus he had to stay the night in a hotel.

He booked a room, freshened himself up, and crashed into the bed. He was mentally tired from the run that he had gone through the whole Dungeon in a single run. He still had to check the rewards, and thus he pulled it up.

[Quest Completed]

[Clear the Beginner's Dungeon]

[Previous record time: 02:12:30 seconds]

[New Record Time: 02:10:45 seconds] 

[Rewards: Intermediate Dungeon Key]

[Set a new record]

[Additional Rewards: A piece of Armor]

[Claim Rewards? Yes/No]

"I just don't understand why it is always a yes or no question. Will there be a time when I will choose no?", he thought as he selected 'Yes'. The rewards began to come in.

[Rewards - Intermediate Dungeon Key]

[A Key that opens a portal to an Intermediate Dungeon]

[Additional Rewards: A Piece of Armor]

[Mechanized Calculator Helmet - Advanced Tier]

[A helmet with an inbuilt AI. It can calculate anything you tell. Upgradeable to Demi-God Tier. Needs a Programmer and Blacksmith to upgrade]

"A programmer", mused Lucas as he saw the description of the item he had received. Programmers, or better known as Engineers, were a rare bunch of individuals that dabbled in the programming section. The reason is, learning to program something from a Beast Crystal was something that was extremely hard.

They make micro chips from the crystal that is used to make the program out of it, and then they give their design to a blacksmith to craft it.. They then insert their chip into the piece they have received and make it run.