Tuesday, April 18, 2023

11:00 AM

Hillsborough Hospital - Coma Ward - Room 328

Beep Beep Beep Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Those damn machines were driving him crazy as they tried to get a read through his new skin. IV needles were pushed out, and the only thing that remained connected to him was an odd patchwork of wires and suction cups attached to his forehead and having been pushed up off his scalp by his newly growing hair.

*DING!*

Congratulations! You have unlocked a New Statistic and Resource Pool! You have unlocked: Connection Statistic and Connection Pool! Your Natural Connection Value exceeds standard defaults. Your Connection Statistic Value is Forty (40)! You have acquired a new Trait: One With The Machine (Tier 4). Your Connection Statistic Value has granted you access to the following Skills: Hack and Mental Fortification.

One With The Machine (Tier 4) - Increases Connection Pool by Two Hundred Fifty (250) Points per Tier (Current: 1,000). Decrease the amount of mental fatigue from interfacing with technology by ten percent per Tier (Current: 40%). Increases the rate of skill increase for Machine Related Skills by Fifteen Percent (15%) per Tier (Current: 60%).

He reached out with his new connection to technology and shut down all the beeping machines, only to hear screams of horror and surprise coming from other rooms. He stood up, his soulbound gear flowing into existence around him from his Inventory, covering up the runic pentagram on his chest over his heart, which looks like one hell of a fancy tattoo now, despite the pain being branded by five divines inflicted on his body.

*Ba-Da-Bing!*

You have obtained your Personal Quest!

Create a Sapient Digital Intelligence that can utilize the System!

Difficulty: IMPROBABLE

Reward: EVOLUTION

Penalty: STAGNATION

You have obtained a Divine Quest!

Create the First Galactic Tunnel on EARTH and dedicate it to your Patron!

Difficulty: Nightmare

Reward: HIDDEN

Penalty: Decreased relationship with your Patron based on who has received Tunnels before him.

*Ba-Da-Boom!*

You have entered the Dungeon Territory of Hillsborough Horror Hospital!

Recommended Stat Levels: 5-40.

Recommended Party Size: Full (10 Member)

Recommended Gear: Silver / Holy

ZONE LOCKED UNTIL ALL BOSSES DEFEATED!

Current Bosses: 10/10

"Damn it! Not now! Why the fuck did someone make the choice to plant themselves here, and how did they get that strong? You know this is exactly the reason why I cleansed my debuffs at the start of the damned tutorial..."

A nurse screamed as they saw him standing over the empty bed that he had been in. "Who the hell are you? What the hell is going on?"

He bowed to her, sweeping aside his trenchcloak. "The name is Joriya Alvinos. I suppose the Hell that is going on is that one of the patients here decided that they wanted to become a Dungeon Core and managed to get some pretty hefty bonuses during the Tutorial to claim the entire Hospital, let alone spawn monsters that have a minimum statistic value of forty. If you want to live, you should stick close to me. We'll go through this ward, and check everyone, cleansing the debuffs of those who decided to wait their hour penalty before being able to more. Either that, or we could abandon them and start hunting the Bosses required to unlock the Zone and allow us to leave the Hospital."

"You can't be Joriya... he was nearly skin and bones!"

"Allison, I am Joriya. You came in once a week to read to me for an hour. What did you spend your PPP on?"

"I... I... I purchased healing magic..."

"Have you reached the skill level to cleanse debuffs?"

"Yes... My tutorial was in a city that was being attacked, and my job was to heal as many as I could..."

"I see... Thank you for trusting me with that information."

"What...?"

"Apparently, the Tutorial is based on the depths of your personality. You truly seek to heal people."

Joriya flinched as he let his Resonance field out, wrinkling his nose as he suddenly felt, smelt, and could even taste everything in the field, except for where it brushed up against the ceiling and floor, being cut off by the Dungeon Floor barriers.

"Stay behind me... the monsters are already spawning. We should probably take care of the ones spawning in the patient rooms before anything else," Joriya stated as he headed out of the room and towards the first spawned monster, a Zombie. He whistled, drawing its attention, and the information on his Inspect showed 'Dungeon Zombie'. "It's a zombie," he calmly told her as it turned and lurched at them. He quickly unsheathed his sword, and thrust it through the eye of the Zombie, making it burst into light and drop a copper PPP coin.

"Gather the loot if you don't mind? I'm going to hurry to save as many of those who haven't purged their debuffs. Try to keep up, but I'll keep you in my Resonance so that I know you're safe," Joriya told her before taking off, drawing a throwing knife into the hand without his short sword. He made his way down the hallway, all of the doors open so that the nurses at the main desks can hear if a machine has an issue between their standard rounds. He threw the dagger and moved on as he passed one door, striking a zombie in the back of its skull, killing it, as it had been moving towards the helpless former coma patient.

He moved quicker and smoother than the nurse can believe, offing zombies with a single throw of a dagger or stab of his sword. She quickly goes room by room, casting cleansing magic, waking up the formerly debuffed. As he finished off the last zombie in the back end of their ward, a loud roar and a high pitched scream echo down the ward from the nurse's station.

Joriya growled softly as he sensed that his wiping out the zombies had ended up spawning a boss in the largest open area of the ward, which is being treated as a Floor. The nurse's terror-filled shriek cuts off with a pained sound as he races past Allison and the ones she's woken up, hoping to reach the nurse that the Boss has attacked in time to save her. As he ran, he unsheathed the longsword, his first dagger repopulating on the baldric.

He exited the Hallway, his Resonance already showing him the Boss had its huge, deformed fist wrapped around the nurse. He snarled as he activated Pounce, aiming for the eye sockets with both of his blades, triggering a Double Critical Fatal Blow and causing the mutated zombie to burst into light, dropping the nurse who was still alive. He growled angrily as the rest of the zombies on the floor were triggered into a Rage, and burst from the rooms on the other side of the ward to come charging in a wave of thirty angry zombies, ignoring everything but him as he was inflicted with the target status of 'Boss Slayer'.

While the speed and strength of the zombies had now doubled, he wasn't the least concerned, as he took his time stabbing them in the brains, as his defense was too high for them to do anything.

*Ba-Da-Bing!*

You have cleared the Coma Ward Floor of the Hillsborough Horror Hospital!

Until Fully cleared, the Coma Ward will now act as a Safe Zone.

Would you like to spend 10,000 PPP to resurrect any who die in the Hillsborough Horror Hospital in a Safe Zone? [Effect Permanent, Carries Over]

[ Yes ] / [ No ]

He frowned and selected 'Yes', and watched a thousand of his PPP disappear instead of the five hundred he was expecting.

*Ba-Da-Bing!*

Hillsborough Horror Hospital Safe Zones have been Upgraded!

Would you like to spend 200,000 PPP purchase Shop Access for the Safe Zones? [Effect Permanent, Carries Over]

[ Yes ] / [ No ]

He sighed and nodded to himself before selecting 'Yes' again and watching another twenty thousand PPP vanish from his status. Of course, he wasn't buying from the Shop, so the extra discount from Frugal didn't apply, he realized.

*Ba-Da-Bing!*

Hillsborough Horror Hospital is the first Dungeon on Earth to acquire Shop Access in Safe Zones!

Hillsborough Horror Hospital has the first System Shop on Earth!

Hillsborough Horror Hospital has gained the Instanced Trait! [Trait applies once Cleared!]

Hillsborough Horror Hospital has selected Emergency Ward as a Permanent Safe Zone!

Hillsborough Horror Hospital has offered you a Challenge Option for Alternative Clearing!

Challenge: Survive 20 Consecutive Waves!

Location: Hospital Entrance

Waves Completed: 0/20

Reward: Dungeon Completion, 500 PPP, 500 IEP, 50 JP

Penalty: None

"If you can hear me, I will accept the Challenge, if you let me first escort all current survivors to the Emergency Ward, and allow access to the Emergency Ward from the outside of the facility for the community."

The loudspeakers crackled to life and a soft, rich voice rolled out. "I agree to your terms, Adventurer. You have no idea how pleased you have made me with your purchases."

*Ba-Da-Bing!*

You have accepted the Challenge: Survive 20 Consecutive Waves [Solo]!

Proceed to the Hospital Entrance to Begin Challenge.

Suddenly, my Resonance could sense above and below, all of the monsters on other floors vanishing.