Lucas gave the skeleton one final glance and went outside. With the old sword in his right hand and the stick in his left, he continued his return along the wall of the gorge.

There were no more discoveries and after moving for a while, he passed by the entrance of the artefact chamber and could see the glowing cloud of the dungeon ahead. The preliminary exploration of the gorge was complete.

He stopped and pondered the results of his survey. Three stone chambers and the remains of one building. My new base and the room with the skeleton seem like living quarters. The unknown device is an enigma and nothing was found in the ruins.

This place is very isolated. Maybe it was some sort of small secret base? Was the dungeon also made by the artifact builders, or is it natural?

Most importantly why was I sent here? Until now there hasn’t been any sign of the entity responsible for my current predicament. There is still too much I don’t know and new questions arise one after another.

Lucas elected to continue his original plan of shelter creation and went to the place where he had left the water supplies looted from the dungeon. Since he could not carry everything, he decided to leave the stick on the ground and took the bottles with his left hand.

Moving back to his new base was uneventful and after entering inside he left the water on the stone floor. I am starting to feel some hunger and thirst. There is still time until sunset so l should have lunch first and then continue.

He sat down and took out the looted snacks from the pocket of his jacket. After thinking for a while he decided to separate them in three groups in such a way that all three had similar amount of calories.

Food is my most scarce resource now. I should save as much as possible. So, no more than one portion per day or even two days. Now that I have a real weapon I can try to enter the dungeon and get the rest of the food. But that will have to be done tomorrow.

Lucas ate the snacks, quenched his thirst and was ready to continue. I should explore the area in the immediate vicinity again to make sure there is nothing dangerous.

He stood up, took the old sword and went outside. After moving around for a while among the bushes and trees, he saw another small bird. It was eating a fruit quite similar to blueberries. He approached and the bird flew away.

Soon he found the source of the fruit was a bush nearby. Lucas came near it and saw there were a lot of fruits. Some showed signs of pecking. He plucked one of the half eaten ones and smelled it. It had sweet and fruity odor. Since the bird was consuming this, it is probably not poisonous. If I don’t find other sources of food, or going in the dungeon is impossible, I can try and eat this.

In the next half hour he explored a large area near his new shelter. There were only bushes and trees and no obvious threats were found. He didn’t see any animals other than small birds.

Lucas went back near his base, put the sword between his belt and jeans along his hip and started collecting leaves. After more than an hour he created a makeshift sleeping place in the stone room.

He also collected several sticks and left them inside. They were intended to block the entrance and the smaller window-like hole during the night. With those branches anything that comes while I am sleeping will at least make sound and hopefully allow me to react.

It was late afternoon by the time all of his preparations were finished. There was nothing else to do, so he decided to bury the skeleton. Lucas searched for a suitable place not too far from the room with the remains. The soil in the area was not too hard and soon he found an acceptable location.

Digging with bare hands is out of the question and I don’t want to use the sword either. Damaging my only real weapon for this is not worth it.

He tried with a stick and a flat stone from the stream, but it was hard, slow and inefficient. After digging for a while in that way, he started feeling hot and took off his jacket. Immediately he saw that there was a purple colored tattoo on his left forearm near the elbow. It was composed of curved lines and strange symbols.

What the hell? When did this happen? He inspected the signs, but they were all unfamiliar to him. It does seem like some kind of runic language. In my RPG profile there are [Soul Sigils], maybe it is connected to that.

He concentrated his attention on the tattoo and tried to see if any information will appear in his mind. Nothing happened and after a while he stopped his attempts. Possibly it is just a physical representation of some RPG aspect.

Lucas touched the tattoo with his other hand. There was no pain or any other anomalous feeling.

He went to the stream and tried to wash the mark off, but the water had no effect. It seems I will not be able to remove this anytime soon. Thankfully it doesn’t seem dangerous.

He resumed digging. Creating large enough hole took him more than two hours and the sun was already not visible in the sky. He moved the remains and buried them. It was a very shallow grave, but it was the best he could do under the circumstances.

Lucas washed his hands in the stream and returned to his base. His preparations were complete and with nothing more to do, he rested inside.

Dusk fell and he nervously blocked the entrance with the previously prepared branches. I hope my assumption about the absence of predators will be right. It is too bad I don’t have the means to light a fire. With it I would have been much safer.

Time passed and to his relief complete darkness didn’t come and a faint light remained. The dim illumination is probably from a moon and the stars.

He listened for any suspicious or threatening sounds coming from the outside, but the night was quiet. After a while his tension lessened.

There was nothing to do in the darkness and he decided to try and sleep. It proved difficult. The stone floor was hard and uncomfortable despite the leaves he had put on it. Constant depressing thoughts about his loved ones back on Earth assaulted his mind. After several hours he finally drifted into sleep.

Sometime next morning Lucas awoke in cold sweat. The reason was a peculiar nightmare of him drifting in space near a giant portal made of azure flame. Bad dreams are not too surprising given my current situation.

He removed the makeshift barricade from the entrance of the chamber, took the sword and went outside with the intention to wash his face at the stream. While moving he felt somehow different and soon the source of the difference became apparent.

His movements were a little faster.

So 8 points in [Agility] do have an effect. This is really good news. It also seems the power granted by attributes is not instant and possibly requires sleep to take an effect.

Lucas looked up and saw it was close to noon. Now that I have a sword, it is time to see if I can go back into the dungeon and take the rest of the food and water. The risk is worth it and I like my chances with a real weapon against the spider monster.

He started walking toward the dungeon, but while moving he suddenly felt a strange and euphoric sensation. There was also vague information in his mind.

He stopped and tried to make sense of it. Soon he noticed that although his [Level] was still 8, he seemed closer to 9 than before.

Is this experience gain? But why now?

The feeling ceased and Lucas resumed walking. He passed by the entrance of the artifact room and decided to go in and check if there was any change. There were no differences compared to yesterday and the device was still glowing with dim light. It seems this thing has been like this for a long time.

Lucas went out and approached the dungeon. How should I try to enter? Proximity to it is almost certainly required. Maybe some kind of mental command when I am close to it? He stood near the glowing cloud with a sword in hand and made dozen different attempts. Finally the desired question appeared in his mind.

[Enter Dungeon?]

Lucas projected mental agreement and his surroundings changed. He found himself back in the underground chamber with the column of light.

He gripped his sword and quickly looked around. There was no sign of the spider-like monster which chased him last time. Did the thing return to the other cavern?

Lucas entered the tunnel slowly with sword pointing forward. After walking for some time a doubt entered his mind. I should have reached the food and water by now. The snacks and bottles were scattered all over the floor and there is no way to miss them in this passage.

He almost reached the cavern in which he met the first creature, but there was no sign of the supplies. It seems they are gone. How did it happen? Is the entity which put me in the dungeon responsible, or is there another reason?

Lucas had no reason to stay and returned to the exit of the dungeon. He approached the light column and when the [Exit Dungeon?] appeared in his mind, gave mental agreement and went out.