Chapter 2: Stumbling all the way

Living condition in the base camp wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows; especially for the D-grade citizens like Teo. They had to deal with poor living conditions, low-wage jobs, and oppressive officials on a daily basis. They were the easy targets of mockery and bullying by the members of upper living. Law was never on their side.

Teo had to work more than twelve hours a day for the sake of his goals. Every day, he would toil for hours on different back-breaking jobs. Then, he would join the scavenger squad hired by [Players] to assist in their hunting.

While the pay was good, the work itself was dangerous. They were effectively leaving the safety bubble of the base camp to delve into the unknown world dominated by mutated flora and fauna. There was always the threat of running into a monster horde. In that case, the [Players] would abandon them without a second thought.

Why would they sacrifice their lives to save expandable coolies? In their views, it was not an efficient choice.

Having to survive under such harsh circumstances, it was justifiable for Teo to have better stats than his fellow D-grades. But, he didn’t let himself be complacent. Compared to the well-trained player candidates who received proper schooling, and weeded through a systematic selection process for the Awakening stones— his attributes were nothing special to write home about.

On top of that, this was Lyria’s Cemetery. Even well-trained and experienced people had failed here. Teo didn’t believe he was better than his predecessors who had been rigorously trained by expert [Players] from their childhood.

I must be careful with those ten attribute points. Teo thought as he scrutinized his stats. They are my ace in the hole.

For the time being, he settled on saving up on them. He would decide what to do after getting a feel of the dungeon. Teo thought it was the most logical approach.

He looked up and squinted his eyes at the lantern hanging from the ceiling.

[Cursed Soul Lamp]

A poor soul trapped in an enchanted glass, forever to burn and provide illumination.

[Observe] detailed everything about the object his eyes were focussing on.

“Damn- I’d hate to be that guy.” Teo shook his head and suppressed a chilling shudder when he imagined himself in the shoes of the trapped soul. He couldn't even begin to imagine how it must be feeling.

“Alright, let’s continue,” Teo whispered to himself as he forced his thought away from that depressing mire. He had set a goal for himself— [Observe] must level up at least once before starting on the first floor.

Leather pants

Rank: common

Def: 4 – 6

Durability: 7/10

A pair of pants made from the leather of a wild sheep.

“Nice, my pants are better than I thought.” Teo snickered. For something that only cost him a few points in a thrift shop, the stats were nothing short of amazing. Four to six points in defense may not be much, but it was better than nothing.

Feeling pleased with himself, Teo used [Observe] on his hoodie, undershirt, boots, and even socks next.

The result?

Total def: +15

Total speed: +9

“Combined, they are better than I imagined. What the hell!” Teo’s voice betrayed the surprise he felt at such an unexpected discovery.

From the moment he decided to use an Awakening stone, Teo has been collecting any information he could get on [Players] who went through tutorials. Due to that, he was able to compile a guidebook to help him in the awakening. Although it was out of his expectations that he would find himself in Lyria’s Cemetery of all places.

The basic rules hadn't changed.

Those who go through tutorials couldn’t bring anything from the real world into the dungeon except for the clothes on their back. Weapons, armors, and even food, an aspirant couldn’t bring anything into the tutorial.

They have to make use of the things they obtain inside the dungeon.

Why do only clothes manage to pass over? That's not a question Teo had the answers to.

“It is only the first floor, and I haven’t even started on the quest yet. What a lucky surprise.” In Lyria’s Cemetery, getting even a single advantage could make a difference; it can save his life in a critical time. “Anyway, why has the Observe not level upped?”

Feeling doubtful, Teo drew the system interface and clicked on the [Observe] skill.

Observe Lv 1

Proficiency: 99%

Gives you information about a target.

A free skill given to every trainee going through the tutorial phase.

Consumes a small amount of stamina when activated

“Only 1% left, huh?” Teo clicked his tongue and continued using [Observe]. He was so close. Although it was in the description that the skill consumes some stamina; due to being in the [Green Zone], Teo kept regenerating everything he lost at a rate faster than the depletion. As such, he was able to spam it without any restriction. There were no cooldowns, anyway.

Several more minutes later his efforts came to fruition.

[Observe] gained a level

Level 1 -> 2

Observe Lv 2

Proficiency: 0%

Gives you slightly more detailed information about a target.

Acquired night-vision.

Consumes a little bit of stamina when used.

“Good. I really got night vision.” Teo rejoiced as he read the detailed info on the skill.

[Players] rarely talk about their skills, if ever for that matter. But, for some reason, they had never shrunk away from giving information about Observe. As if they felt some sort of obligation to promote the skill as much as they could. Some even go as far as detailing the various uses of the ability.

Teo came across one such event. In a talk show, He remembered a [Player] mentioned that Observe will give the user night vision after reaching level two. That [Player] also gave a hint on how to level up the skill faster with minimum effort. The idea of using [Observe] in the [Green Zone] until it gains a level was his too.

What a clever man he was. Teo had to give him that.

Lyria’s Cemetary was too dark, but the lights from those accursed lamps were not enough. Without clear visibility, he would become easy prey to the monsters lurking in the darkness. In such a situation, night vision would be a great help. It could potentially make his time inside the dungeon a little bit easier.

“Now I’m all set to start this shitty quest. God help me!” Teo took a few deep breaths to gather courage. After some time, he was ready to step out of the [Green Zone].

You have started on tutorial quest 1.

The tutorial can not be stopped until the goal is reached.

Good luck.

“Yeah, thank you,” Teo mumbled under his breath and gripped the wooden sword tighter. The hardness of the wood on his palm boosted his courage and helped to calm his erratic heart. He narrowed his eyes at the road ahead. Dilapidated brick walls stretched out far beyond his eyes could see, even with night vision skill. Flickering light from the cursed lamps illuminated the abandoned corridors. The smooth brick road looked spotless as if someone had cleaned it with extensive effort.

Teo gulped a mouthful of saliva. Scary.

Suddenly, a spine-chilling roar echoing through the hallways made the hair on his back stand up.

You heard the wails of a wraith.

Status effect [Fear] inflicted

Agility -40%

Strength -70%

Tip: Add points to WIL to counteract the effects.

“Fu!! What happened?” Teo’s heart skipped a beat when he realized his body wasn’t listening to his commands. He felt disconnected from his nervous system, and his limbs moved on their own without his conscious control.

Teo stumbled around like a drunkard that had way too many bottles. He stayed like this until his head hit the adjacent wall.

Teo fell to his ass and hugged himself while shivering like a leaf after regaining his bodily function. “What happened?” He questioned in a fear-laced voice. Sweat covered his body, and his complexion was pale.

“Is this why Lyra’s Cemetery is so dangerous? Fuck!! System! Dump all points into WIL. I don’t care about saving anymore!”

Adding points to WIL

WIL becomes 17

A cool sensation washed over his body, whose origin was from his brain, and soothed his fears. His heart settled down, and the unreasonableness he felt vanished without a trace. Teo's wits returned and he regained his composure. He looked at the warning message with scrutiny.

A wraith? What's that? Teo didn't think he had ever heard of wraiths in his life. There were a lot of nightmarish beasts living in the forest around their base camp, but no one had ever mentioned a wraith. He would have remembered otherwise. For now, he committed its name into his memory as something to be careful of.

After taking a few more long breaths, Teo picked himself up and got ready for the challenges.

He held the wooden sword in front of him and carefully tip-toed ahead.

The same spine-chilling scream echoed throughout the halls again. However, this time, the [Fear]'s effects weren't as bad as it was previously. WIL counteracted some of the negative effects it brought.

Teo breathed a sigh of relief after the effect lifted on its own.

“Thank god, it worked.”

He didn’t have any more bonus status points. To get more, he would have to level up first.

Teo stopped when he made out a vague outline leaning against the wall in front of him. Due to poor lighting, he couldn’t make out the shape clearly, and it stood a little too far away for night vision to work properly.

Zombie Lv 1

HP: 40

Status: idle

Found one.

Teo gulped a mouthful of saliva and carefully proceeded. He wasn’t afraid of a single zombie. During scavenger jobs, he had killed many zombies. He knew them like the back of his hand.

Unlike other undeads, zombies were lacking in many ways. They don’t have advanced sensitivity towards living things, although their hearing was somewhat good. They were extremely slow and sluggish with their movements. Even skeletons were faster than them.

Teo was confident that he could kill this zombie.

Mindful of his steps, he sneaked up on the monster. As he got closer, Teo saw its appearance more clearly.

It had pure white skin that looked dry and unhealthy. Its spine was sticking out from its waist with rotting flesh clinging to it. A foul smell many times worse than rotten eggs wafting off its body.

It was still unaware of Teo’s presence behind it. Not letting this chance go in vain, he gritted his teeth, and swung the sword as hard as he can, aiming for its head.

Teo grinned at the feedback he received through the wooden sword's handle when the undead’s skull caved in from the force of his swing. The monster flailed like a fish on a chopping board, splattering its rotten blood everywhere on the floor. Its voice box had already rotted away, eliminating the risk of unwanted sound.

After another delivery of a hard swing to its head, the beast of plague succumbed to its wounds and went still. A zombie’s weakness was in their head. Destroying it would kill the zombie for good.

You killed Zombie Lv 1 x1

+20 EXP

Quest progress: 1/50