There were plenty of things for Levi to do after confirming his victory. Things like looting the enemies, exploring the room, or checking out his status. He went straight for the food. After he had confirmed there was no longer any danger autopilot took over, and when next Levi surfaced he was licking his fingers while holding a stripped clean and freshly gnawed on bone, now devoid of the slightest trace of meat.

Filled with chagrin, Levi carefully placed the bone next to the firepit, which was burning low, lacking proper stoking during Levi’s feeding frenzy. In his hunger fueled haze he had completely forgotten to pace himself, the over-sized piece of meat now no more. Hopefully his Constitution would prevent any side effects from eating too much on an empty stomach.

Now that hunger wasn’t a concern, Levi took the time to actually inspect his surroundings in detail. He hadn’t gotten a good look around before, being otherwise engaged at the time.

It was a sizeable room, with enough space to park five or six cars comfortably. There were two exits he could see in addition to the secret door he entered by, one with the freshly arrow-ridden goblin and the other presumably leading further into the dungeon. Based on the setup of the room it looked like the trapped entrance was the normal way in. All the same, Levi knew he would be checking the other passageway for traps before he used it.

The room was sparsely decorated despite its size, the only real objects being the firepit, some rocks the goblins were sitting on, and two boxes off in one corner, one with some wood for the fire and the other with more meat. There were also some odds and ends lying about, like the stone plate Levi had used as a weapon earlier. When he saw there was more firewood he immediately added some to the dying fire. He thought his Survival skill could probably teach him to generate a spark, but better safe than sorry. He didn’t want to eat the rest of the meat raw if he didn’t have to.

After scoping out the room Levi moved on to the goblins. They were ugly things, with grey skin and spindly arms and legs that ended in rather impressive claws. Based on their appearance they looked like they would start asking him riddles and going on about “my precious”. Not really the look of traditional goblins, but Levi didn’t have a better name for them. He honestly wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Their lack of the quintessential goblin loin clothes and how their mouths nearly split their head in two when they opened was the stuff of nightmares.

After looking around, Levi took a few moments to formulate a plan. His first concern was food, and now that he had a box with the meat of some unknown animal he wasn’t in danger of starving, at least in the immediate future. His next concern was escaping the dungeon, and to do that it was looking increasingly likely he would have to increase his combat power. He had defeated the goblins, but all his clothes except his underwear were in tatters, and he was covered in cuts, both superficial as well as some more serious ones. He had a feeling they weren’t that bad considering his stats, but for a person without the System they would likely require stitches.

What this all boiled down to was he wanted to use Aecylic Empowerment. Sure, he could create an endless list of excuses about why it was a good idea, but that feeling… He needed it. Now that his hunger was gone, the urge to experience that power again was all-encompassing. And when what he wanted to do and what he thought he should do aligned, it was impossible to resist.

Considering what happened last time, Levi decided he needed a safer place to practice than the middle of an open room with gods knew what down the hall. To that end, he grabbed both the box of firewood and the box of meat and moved them back into the secret passageway he had entered by. He left the fire burning. He would come back to it if it was still there when he was done, but he didn’t want to try and start a fire behind the secret door only to have smoke filter through it. With everything important moved, he carefully shut the door, hopefully securing a safe place to practice his new skill.

Sitting down against the wall, Levi calmed his breathing in preparation for activating his skill. But first he had to check his status, as he had a feeling that something had changed after the battle.

[Name: Levi Curchman

Level: 5

Titles: System Inductee, Inheritor

Stats: (Unallocated Stat Points: 1)

Strength: 1 Constitution: 9 Dexterity: 1 Agility: 1

Willpower: 13 Insight: 4 Attunement: 1 Charisma: 1

Concentration: 7 Luck: 3 Aecylic Energy:1

Skills: Concentrated Will, Survival, Improved Awareness, Aecylic Empowerment]

As soon as he opened his stats he also received a notification.

[Unlocked generic skill slot! Please choose a skill from your available skills list.]

After looking at the notifications, Levi started to do a little dance of celebration, felt self-conscious and stopped, and then realized no one was around, said fuck it, and did a dance anyway. He deserved some celebrations after looking at the skills he could unlock.

[Available skills: Organization, Driving, Musicality, Exploration, Retreat, Meditation, Brawling.]

He had four new skills available to him, and all of them looked potentially useful. And after hitting level five he realized that he would gain access to a new generic skill slot every five levels, which was huge. He wasn’t really sure how easy it was to level up, especially at higher levels, but knowing he would always be able to grow and obtain new skills was valuable information.

First, he chose his new skill. While he wanted all four, right now he needed to increase his combat strength, and with that in mind there was an obvious choice.

[Unlocked skill: Brawling! This skill allows for an increased ability to fight, particularly in unarmed combat. This skill is associated with: Strength.]

He then tried to assign his skill point to Aecylic Energy, but found out he couldn’t. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been surprising, but skill points, at least those he gained from level ups, could only be used to increase his basic stats, not those he had unlocked.

Frustrated, Levi then had to decide what his second choice would be. He really wanted an increase in Aecylic Energy, since if he was going to be practicing with the skill that seemed like the best stat to have. After some thought, he decided to go with Attunement. Aecylic Empowerment was associated with Aecylic Energy, Willpower, and Attunement, and out of the two he could distribute his stat point to, Attunement had a lower value, so presumably it could benefit more from the added point. He couldn’t afford to mess around with his stats right now, but without information everything was a risk.

But now wasn’t the time to wax eloquent about how much of an asshole the System was. It was time for some Empowerment.

Levi settled himself down, taking a second with Concentrated Will active to center himself. Meditation would likely be useful here, but he would have to hold off on that until he had the luxury of being somewhere safe where he didn’t need a more combat oriented skill. In the meantime, Concentrated Will would have to suffice.

With his slow breathing as the background, Levi gently reached out to his Aecylic Empowerment skill. He couldn’t really describe how he did it. He imagined it like using a phantom limb, somehow extending his imaginary hands towards his skill, where he grasped it and slowly, ever so slowly, started to pull, being careful not to take in too much energy at once.

It was slow going. After the first time, he knew he had to be careful. He couldn’t just fill himself up with Aecylic Energy. Neither his body nor his skill could handle it. But if the energy was that powerful, it just meant the payoff would be that much sweeter once he mastered it. The power was worth the price, or it would be if he could actually learn to use it.

The first few times he failed to activate the skill at all. That was intentional though, as he would rather pull too little than too much. Finally, he hit the sweet spot. He knew immediately that he had succeeded, Aecylic Energy starting to flow into his body. Even the small amount he drew on filled him with power. He likened it to Ambrosia, the nectar of the Gods.

As soon as he successfully drew a little, he stopped the pull, instead working on cycling the energy through his body. He unconsciously knew what to do, his skill guiding the flow of energy as it expanded to fill his body, flowing along predetermined paths.

It felt amazing, the rush of power almost too much to bear. He had heard accounts from junkies about what it felt like to shoot up again after withdrawal. He didn’t believe them. How could they truly know what the rush felt like? Nothing could compare to the power coursing through his veins, bleeding into every cell of his body. He was being reborn. Like a phoenix, he was rising from the ashes in a torrent of fire.

Then it was over. The small amount of power he had drawn slowly fading away, leaving him a husk of his former self, empty and weak.

Levi slowly opened his eyes, stood up, and started purposefully pacing around the small room he was in. This power was dangerous. Even the tiny amount he used was addictive. He wanted more. He needed more.

He had seen firsthand what drugs could do. Greg was dead because of them. He could still see it, when Greg came to him asking for money right before he overdosed. The sallow look of his skin, how he smelled, not having showered in days, the nervous tapping of his foot, nailing out a beat incomprehensible and strange. It made an impression on the sixteen-year-old Levi. Anything that addictive could kill.

But not using his Aecylic Energy could also kill him. He was trapped in a dungeon, with an unknown number of monsters still to fight. He needed power, no matter the cost. Even if that power came with the sweet whispers of the devil Levi would still use it. He needed out. Everything else would come after that. Besides, he couldn’t fail here. Susan believed in him.

Conviction filled him as he sat back down, preparing himself to draw on his skill. He wasn’t the worthless idiot he was when he was sixteen. He had learned a lot since then. Activating Concentrated Will, Levi drew once more on his Aecylic Energy.

Five times was all he could handle before he collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, his body crying out for the power that had sustained it moment before. But Levi had a smile on his face. That last time something had been different, and when he checked his status, Aecylic Empowerment was level five, netting him five stat points, including a point in Aecylic Energy.

It wouldn’t be easy, but Levi vowed he would overcome this just as he had overcome everything else before it. He had a clear way to power, power he needed to stop bad things from happening. If he had enough power, it wouldn’t matter if the boogie man was in the closet or not. It wouldn’t matter if this dungeon had him fight a dragon. Calming his breathing and closing his eyes, he settled back in to practice. He was currently in a safe space with access to food, and it was time to grind.