Aiden wondered if they should upgrade their gear a bit as they were still wearing what they had purchased all those months ago when the cleared the previous dungeon. He turned towards Vicky and asked her through his now somewhat proficient sign language. ‘Do we want to upgrade our gear before going in?’

She looked at him thinking for a moment, the signed back ‘No, remember what happened last time?’ He though about it and cringed, indeed remembering what happened to their gear in the last dungeon. It would be best to wait till after they came out. He turned back when she continued.

‘We should be fine for now, although getting some extra supplies like arrows, potions, and provisions wouldn’t hurt’ Aiden nodded and they spent a few minutes browsing the shop, purchasing what they needed. Aiden mention bringing along a back up, so they each purchased an extra melee and ranged weapon for themselves, just in case the ones they had were damaged or lost. You never knew what could happen in a dungeon and they had learned that the hard way already.

The duo were stocked with enough provisions to last them almost a month, although they were unlikely to need that much, it was best to be prepared. With everything ready and one final check that they didn’t forget to buy anything, and a chagrined duo purchasing some rope and extra torches which they indeed forgot about, they approached the vortex and walked through it. Aiden still having no idea why there was a damn door there.

They found themselves in a brightly lit up featureless square shaped room with no way out that they could see, and an inactive teleport on the floor in the center of the room. They approach and stepped on it both receiving a prompt asking them to specify which area they wanted to enter.

This was a new feature which they hadn’t experienced before but they could both see how convenient this could be. No one above level 100 would want to trek through F-ranked floors after all. He just hoped that someone didn’t accidentally choose a higher ranked area by mistake or they would be fucked. Aiden selected ‘Area 1’ and his prompted dissipated. He looked towards Vicky and once she had seemingly done the same they were both teleported in a flash of light.

Their awareness returned a moment later and the pair found themselves on a grassy plain surrounded by extremely tall cliffs. It looked like they were at the bottom of a ravine or canyon. Behind them was a sheer cliff face and in front of them the plain stretched out for a few miles at least. They could also see things roaming the plains in the distance. Next to them was a restoration crystal. There was also a mana dome or shield around the area they were standing in.

This probably meant they were standing in a safe area. They moved a bit forward outside the dome and when they looked back the shield disappeared. Wanting to test if the shield would come back he stepped back inside and indeed it came right back up. “Huh”.

The couple started to walk forward at a leisurely pace, enjoying the bright sunlight on their skin, the fresh outdoor air, and the wide open space after so long trekking through the mountain caves. “I wonder how the system does it.” He asked.

When his girlfriend raised an inquiring eyebrow he elaborated. “I mean this place. Is it a real place? Are we on another part of Terra right now? A new world altogether? Another dimension? That’s what I meant. How does the system do it, and where ‘exactly’ are we right now, other then inside a dungeon.” Victoria looked like she was thinking deeply on those questions but she too seemed to have no answers.

Aiden’s best guess was a different dimension. Something like their inventories but on a larger scale. There were various items you could buy in the system shop that served as pocket dimensions and could be used to supplement how much a person could carry. They both already owned one such item, a ring, that didn’t count as a piece of equipment for some reason.

It was one of the lowered tiered ones and still expensive as hell at 100k each. It had 25 slots with a slightly upgraded weight limit of 125 pounds per slot. They were useful things and allowed them to carry more supplies and gear. Aiden even carried enough wood with him for his woodworking that he could probably build a small house with it.

There were much better ones out there too. He saw one that cost 100 million credits which had a stack of 5,000 with a weight limit of 100 thousand pounds per slot. Why anyone would need one like that was a mystery to him. ‘Maybe to carry around an entire town in their pocket? or siege weapons for an army? That would be convenient’ he mused.

The point was that those things were large pocket dimensions contained within the items and he could see how the same would be possible for dungeons. He relaid his thoughts back to Victoria and she seemed to agree that it would be the most logical option of a bunch of illogical options.

They continued for a bit further until the moving shapes in the distance became clearer and they were revealed to in fact be monsters as they suspected. There were a few different species from what he could tell. When they got closer Aiden could see that these were mostly animal’s that would normally be found living in grasslands around the world.

There were bison or buffalo. (he wasn’t sure which and was too far to inspect) There were also zebra, but they had horns which was kinda weird. He also saw a flock of ostriches, deer, a rhino, and some cheetahs. The monsters were all exhibiting similar behavior to what the original animals they were based off of would. The place seemed like a living environment and not a dungeon.

These were in fact still monsters however. All slightly larger then normal animals with small changes to their original looks, and they all obviously had levels. They were all between lvl 25-30, nothing too dangerous for them, if they avoided getting ambushed by a pack of lions or something while they were fighting.

Aiden activated his battle aura and charged into a group of ostriches laughing maniacally. “Come on you over grown chickens! Daddy’s hungry for some essence!.” Victoria laughed silently and sighed in exasperation at her boyfriend’s antics. He was like a big kid sometimes, but it was nice to see him unwind a bit. She hefted her spear and followed after, making sure to keep an eye out for any ambushes.

Approximately six hours later the duo were sitting around a fire they started at the end of the first floor, cooking up some ostrich meat, Aiden still sporting a large smile. “That was pretty fun. The difficulty wasn’t anything that most people who unlocked their second class wouldn’t be able to handle either, so that’s good news for our people.” He said while taking a bite out of a roasted leg.

The pair were currently sitting at the base of the cliffs at the other side of the ravine from where they started. Above them stood two gigantic statues of snake people, carved out of the side of the cliffs. In between the two statues was what looked like an entrance to a temple or a tomb. It was an interesting visual that would have archaeologists drooling over the prospect of exploring such a place.

Once the meal was finished they continued on to the next floor. The entrance led them into a labyrinth of catacombs filled with skeleton mobs. The ambiance of the place was rather creepy, especially with the added skeletons they had to deal with. Aiden was a bit put out as his sword did reduced damage and he had to rely on his ice magic for most of his damage output. That or the pommel of his sword. Victoria just used her fire magic or swung her spear cracking skulls left and right.

The next floor was more creepy catacombs with slightly higher level skeletons wielding more varieties of weapons. The fourth floor was the same but added mage skeletons to the mix and a few spiders. The fifth floor had the boss for the area and Aiden had only then realized that this was the first boss they had fought inside the dungeon so far.

It was a drastic change from the previous dungeon which had a boss on every floor. It was also labeled as an ‘Area Guardian’ instead of a boss. The guardian was an over sized skeleton which had emerged from a huge tomb that sat prominently in the center of the room. The thing wielded a Great-sword and looked quite menacing, but It was rather slow and didn’t pose any problems for them, taking only a minute to take down. They really were overpowered for the F-ranked areas it seemed.

The enemies in the first area were all lvl 25-30 with the guardian being at a measly 35. It was too easy for them, but would be a perfect place for his army and the Order of the Guardians to train in and gain levels without too much risk. They continued on to the next area which led them into a forest peppered with ruins from some sort. It made Aiden wonder where the system got the ideas to create these places.

The monsters here were mainly insect of various kinds with a few snakes, boars, and bears added for flavor, all ranging between lvl 30-35, making a 5 level jump in difficulty. All of the ‘floors’ for this area, which were basically just passages through some thickets to the next location, contained similar monsters. The only difference being their numbers and slightly improved stats.

The boss for the last ‘floor’ was a huge puma, it’s main danger coming from its speed with an agility stat of 99. With both Aiden and Vicky sitting over one hundred in the stat, they did just fine and weren’t hit once during the encounter.

The next area was the first of the E-Ranked ones, made immediately apparent by the first monster they inspected. It was an overgrown lizard or salamander at lvl 50 with its stats taking a significant jump from an F-Ranked creature. It had pretty much all its stats close to or over 100 with some reaching close to 150.

Now high stats meant a bit less with monsters, unless they were intelligent enough to make good use of them, but the high jump in difficulty was still a little jarring. They were actually pushed quite a bit taking out just that first monster.

The ‘area’ they found themselves in was an underground path that stretched as far as the eyes could see. There were rivers of lava flowing throughout the place making it hot as hell and leaving them feeling uncomfortable. This place would be dangerous. If you weren’t paying attention and fell into the lava that would be it, instant death. They had to be really careful when they fought lest they be melted alive.

The monsters here varied from things like those lizards to fire slime’s and even a slug of some sort that seemed to be made of the lava itself. When the thing slid along the floor, it left melted gouges in the ground behind. Aiden’s frost wave was getting a good workout here with all the fire attuned monsters.

The Area Guardian at the end scared the shit out of Aiden when he first saw it. To him it looked like a damn Dragon, and brought back his fears from when he saw the last one. Fortunately when he inspected it his fears were eased somewhat. It was still scary as hell but at least it wasn’t a dragon.

Area Guardian - Inferno Drakeling Alpha Rank (E)

lvl 60

Health 5000/5000

stamina 2000/2000

Mana 1140/1140

Vitality - 500

Endurance - 200

Strength - 240

Agility - 148

Dexterity - 68

Skill - 72

Intelligence - 115

Wisdom - 114

It was the toughest fight they had been in before, with seemingly everything working against them. First of all the fight took place on an small round stone platform surrounded by lava on all sides so they didn’t have much room to maneuver against the insanely fast Alpha, or any place to hide when it actually spewed lava at them from its mouth.

Victoria was almost hit head on with its first attack of that variety, and it would have melted her damn armor and done a lot of damage or killed her outright, based on what happened when it hit the floor behind her. The grazing blow still nearly took over one third of her health and melted the armor onto her skin.

The second issue came from the Drakelings sheer size, and the fact that it could damn fly. It would stay airborne spewing lava at them as it swooped down. Another issue was quick to make itself know when Aiden slashed at it with his sword.

The thing had tough scales all over its body and unless you hit it just right, most attacks would just bounce off dealing less then 10 damage. The Guardian's endurance stat being over 200 playing a big factor in this fight, making most attacks useless unless you got lucky and hit some soft tissue. Ranged attacks fared no better, their weapons stats not being high enough to get passed its defense even with their strength bonuses being added on top.

The thing also seemed pretty much immune to fire attacks making Victoria’s ‘Flame Cyclone’ spell useless. Thankfully Ice magic seemed to be a weakness for it like the rest of the monsters in this area, so they had a good way of damaging it. Even Aidens sword managed to penetrate the scales if he was using ‘Tempest Blade’.

They eventually prevailed when the Guardian tired itself out with its constant flying and was forced to land. That took a good half hour however, with the duo having to swap out and hold the things aggro while the other person recovered their stamina.

The whole fight took them nearly an hour from start to finish and by then they both had nearly died at least half a dozen times. Aiden actually having to use the Mana Shield that came with his Warrior’s Necklace of Protection for the first time when he couldn’t dodge an attack fast enough. The attack took out the shield in one hit but gave him enough time to dodge.

The battle awarded them another world first bonus for killing an E-ranked monster which was nice, as was the essence and credits they gained. They were far too out of it and in pain to truly enjoy it at the time though.

Their gear was practically useless at this point. A lot of it was even melted on to their skin, forcing them to painfully rip it off a piece at a time. Having to cut out some stubborn parts adding to the pain. It was not pleasant to say the least. They decided to call it quits after that, having had enough for now. The E-ranks were a lot harder then they expected and they weren’t willing to risk exploring the next area yet.

The Dungeon run netted them each 426,480 essence and more than doubling that amount in system credits. The essence and Mana stones gained for killing E-Ranked monsters almost doubled from an F-Rank. The whole run took them just under two days, and they wouldn’t say no to doing it again with some better gear, which they could now definitely afford. Once they exited the dungeon they took a swim, washing off the last two days of accumulated grime and trying to get rid of the smell of their burnt flesh. They then sat down and started to shop for new gear.

Unfortunately the loot drops this time weren’t anything too special. The gear dropped was all in the Uncommon rank, with the final boss giving out the only thing of note. It was a one time use Elixir that would increase a specific stat permanently when drunk. This one gave a +3 to Agi, and since Victoria had no need of it with as much Agi per level she was getting, her boyfriend had been the one to use it.

Aiden spent nearly all of his credits on high tier Rare ranked gear, with Veronica following suit. It was well worth it though. The Rare ranked gear was more resistant to damage which would help their gear hold up better against things like that Drakeling. All the gear also added a few points to at least one specific stat depending on the equipment’s Quality.

They had themed their new armor after the Drakeling they just fought, finding a set on the shop. All of it adding some resistance to fire based magic. Every piece of armor was dark, almost black, with a reddish tint and had scales along the leather for added protection. The scales made it heavier resulting in a loss of one agility point from each piece, but that was nothing compared to the bonuses it gave them. Plus it just looked plain bad ass, making Aiden grin.

Equipment was ranked by Rarity and Quality, each adding effectiveness to the finished product. Something with a higher rarity was almost always better then something with a lower one. Unless the higher rarity gear was at ‘Poor’ quality, or the lower rarity gear had a skill or spell attached to it that you wanted to keep using. The rarity and Quality were ordered thusly.

Rarity:

Common

Uncommon

Rare

Very Rare

Epic

Legendary

Ancient

Living

Quality:

Poor

Average

Good

Very Good

Superior

Excellent

Exceptional

Superb

Flawless

All their new gear except for the arrows, and a knife Aiden bought, were Rare and Flawless quality, making them the top tear for that rank. The higher up you went the better the materials used to craft the gear were, making them more effective.

A skilled crafter could still make a higher rarity piece of equipment with sub par materials if his skill was high enough, but it was generally better to use more exceptional things that wouldn’t break as easily or wear down as fast. Mana played a part in all of this as well, being infused during the creation process for better results effecting the durability of the gear, and other things such as defense or damage output.

The total cost for Aiden to outfit himself came out to almost 1.4 million, and that was with forgoing getting better accessories. Once again leaving him broke, but hopeful that this time the gear would last him longer. Victoria payed a similar price as well. She had to replace her cloak of the explorer which had the dark vision skill but the Drake Scaled Cloak was just better over all.

She also got rid of her Padded Dark Leather Corset which she mainly wore underneath her armor for the extra chest support. The New chest armor however was a snug fit and helped enough in that area that she didn’t need the corset any more.

Aiden:

Weapons:

Warriors Longsword of Maiming - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

Damage Physical: 195-200

+10 Str / +10 Agi / +10 skill

(Cost - 200,000)

Warriors Bow of penetration - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

Damage Physical: 175-180

+ 10 Str / + 10 Dex + 10 Skill

(Cost - 175,000)

Warrior's Arrow x100 - (Rare) / Quality (Very Good)

+14 damage

(Cost - 30,000)

Warriors Knife of bloodletting - (Rare) / Quality (Superior)

Damage Physical: 70-75 / +5 Str

(Cost 70,000)

Armor:

Drakeling Scale leather Armor - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+45 def / +10 Vit / +10 End / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 200,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather Greaves - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+30 def / +10 End / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 120,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather Vambraces - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+30 def / +10 Str / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 120,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather gloves - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+14 defense / +10 Dex / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 65,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather Breeches / (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+18 def / +10 Vit / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 75,000)

Drakeling scale Leather Helm - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+35 def / +10 End / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 125,000)

Drake Scale Leather Boots - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+16 def / + 10 Agi / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 75,000)

Drakeling scale Belt (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+12 Def / +10 Dex / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 60,000)

Drakeling scale Cloak - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+16 Def / + 10 Dex / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 75,000)

Accessories:

Ring of Agility - (Uncommon) / Quality (Very Good)

+5 Agi

Active Skill: Rush Aura - Doubles the wearers movement speed for 10 seconds.

10 minute cool down.

(Cost 50 Mana)

Warrior’s Necklace of Protection - (Rare) / Quality (Very Good)

+5 Vit / +5 Str / +5 End

Active Spell: Mana shield - Coalesces Mana around the user to act as a shield.

Effect: Erects a protective shield around the user that can absorb up to 500 damage.

Shield Duration 5 minutes.

Uses (1 per day) 1/1

(Cost 100 Mana)

Shrieker Fang Earring - (Uncommon) / Quality (Average)

+3 Agility

_________________________________

Victoria:

Weapons:

Warriors serrated Spear - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

Damage Physical: 195-200

+10 Str / +10 Agi / +10 Skill

(Cost - 200,000)

Warriors Bow of Penetration - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

Damage Physical: 175-180

+ 10 Str / + 10 Dex / + 10 Skill

(Cost - 175,000)

Warrior's Arrow x100 - (Rare) / Quality (Very Good)

+14 damage

(Cost - 30,000)

Armor:

Drakeling Scale Leather Armor - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+45 def / +10 Vit / +10 End / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 200,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather Greaves - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+30 def / +10 End / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 120,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather Vambraces - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+30 def / +10 Str / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 120,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather gloves - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+14 defense / +10 Dex / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 65,000)

Drakeling Scale Leather Breeches / (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+18 def / +10 Vit / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 75,000)

Drakeling scale Leather Helm - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+35 def / +10 End / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 125,000)

Drake Scale Leather Boots - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+16 def / + 10 Agi / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 75,000)

Drakeling scale Belt (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+12 Def / +10 Dex / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 60,000)

Drakeling scale Cloak - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+16 Def / + 10 Dex / +5% resistance to fire damage

-1 Agi

(Cost - 75,000)

Accessories:

Elven Ring of Healing - (Rare) / Quality (Very Good)

+5 Vit / +5 Int / +5 Wis

Active Skill: Healing touch (Restores 100 Health and cleanses negative status effects).

25 minute cool down. Channel Mana into the ring to activate effect)

(Cost 50 Mana)

Uses: (5 per day) 5/5

Ring of Hardiness - (Rare) / Quality (Flawless)

+10 Vit / +10 End

(Cost 80,000)

______________________________

Status:

Aiden Winters: Age 22

Race Human: Rank(f)

War Ranger: lvl - 33 - Mana essence: 26217/70000

Ice Tempest: lvl - 27 - Mana essence: 15260/40000

Woodworking: lvl - 33

Health: 1560/1560

Stamina: 1180/1180

Mana: 960/960

Defense: 118(334)

Mana Defense: 96

Vitality - 131(156)

Endurance - 83(118)

Strength - 106(146)

Agility - 107(126)

Dexterity - 77(117)

Skill - 93(113)

Intelligence - 87

Wisdom - 96

Resistances:

25% Ice Resistance

45% Fire Resistance

(+3 free / +2 Vit / +1 End / +1 Str / +1 Agi per level from War Ranger)

(+3 free / +1 Vit / +1 skill / +1 Int / +2 Wis per level from Ice Tempest)

(+1 skill from Woodworking Per level)

System credits - 11,522

Skills:

Battle Aura Lvl 4 - (88%)

Effect: Boosts all stats by 5 for 1 minute.

(Cost 75 Mana and 35 stamina)

Tempest Blade Lvl 4 - (43%)

Effect: Encases your blade in Ice Mana dealing increased damage with each strike. Duration 17 seconds. +35 Ice damage per strike +1 damage for every 10 points in Int.

(Cost 85 Mana)

Spells:

Frost Wave lvl 3 - (90%)

Effect: Unleashes a wave of Frost in a 60 degree cone in the direction you point your hand. Range 12 feet.

Effect: Deal 65-70 Ice damage and slows targets for 3 seconds within the cone of effect.

(Cost 75 Mana)

____________________________

Victoria Leblanc: Age 21

Race Human: Rank(f)

Battle Healer: lvl 33 - Mana essence: 38340/70000

Valkyrie: lvl 27 - Mana essence: 24340/40000

Herbologist: lvl - 32

Health: 1160/1160

Stamina: 1150/1150

Mana: 690/690

Defense: 115(331)

Mana Defense: 69

Vitality - 81(116)

Endurance - 70(115)

Strength - 75(105)

Agility - 154(165)

Dexterity - 70(110)

Skill - 70(90)

Intelligence - 95(100)

Wisdom - 64(69)

Resistances:

45% Fire Resistance

(+3 free / +1 Str / +1 Agi / +1 Int / +1 Wis per lvl from Battle Healer)

(+3 free / +3 Agi / +1 Dex / +1 Skill points per level from Valkyrie)

(+1 Int from Herbology Per level)

System credits - 64,218

Skills:

Overdrive - lvl 4 (9%)

Increases Agi, Dex, and Skill by 14% at the cost of stamina

Duration: N/A.

(Cost 75 Mana to activate) (Secondary cost 11 Stamina per 10 second’s)

Spells:

Healing Wind - lvl 3 (74%)

Summons a wind infused with healing Mana over a single target.

Range 17 feet. Cast time 1.9 seconds.

Effect: Restore 100 hp to a single target.

(Cost 50 Mana)

Flame Cyclone - lvl 4 (44%)

Unleashes a cyclone of flames in a designated location.

Spell duration: 8 seconds. Range: 28 feet. Affected area: 12 foot radius from point of origin.

Effect: Deal 55-60 Fire damage per second. High chance to set targets aflame.

(Cost: 115 Mana)