We stood before the dungeon entrance, ready and nervous for what was to come. It had taken me a few minutes to convince everybody that this wasn’t the worst idea in the world but I, with a little help from Chetanjeet, convinced everyone.

It had then taken us an hour to figure out how the party system actually worked. The system had made it incredibly complicated for using it the first time, making you go through about 20 menus just to begin the process, no doubt to encourage more people to go solo.

We now finally had a party formed, allowing us to share experience, loot, etç.

We’d chosen the easiest dungeon close to us, just to get a feel for how this was supposed to work, [{Tombe der Verlorenen}] or [{Tomb of the Lost}] in English. And yes, all system messages we got were in dutch, I’ve simply been translating. From what we’d found online, this tomb mostly put you up against weak undead that were slow, unintelligent and very easy to kill using blunt damage.

We entered the tomb, which was located in one of the biggest graveyards of the province ‘Oost-Vlaanderen’. The moment we did, we got a system notification.

[Welcome, adventurers to this tomb, this most hallowed place. This place meant to be there for remembering. Grief and pain have corrupted this special place, are you willing to drive it out?]

[{Tomb of the Lost}

Difficulty: Average (Enhanced due to party)

Level: 10-20

Objective: Slay the source of corruption, {The Master of Sorrows}]

We carefully descended the steps, slowly nearing sounds that could best be described as the snapping of bones and the yearning for food. The steps ended in a dimly lit room made of wet stone. The coffins inside were opened and as we fully entered the room, the corpses inside crawled out.

Their bodies were decayed to varying degrees, the least decayed one could’ve passed for a normal person if not for the smell and his eyes.

Some were so decayed that only the bones remained, all in all, we were facing about 15 of them. Monsters, that was the best way to describe them.

Marie was the first to react, using one of the non magic skills provided by her class to make sure we did not falter.

“{Presence of the Queen}!” she exclaimed, and as the skill took hold on us, we felt surer, more steady. We should not be afraid, because we had a leader who would guide us.

And as the skill took hold, I turned to the monster closest to me, a body so decayed that it was simply made up of bones and I punched, allowing my movements to be lead by the {Art of the Sun} and my mind to be held steady by {Conviction of the Dragons}. As I did so, I could feel the massive drain on my body. To simply punch made me so tired, but in exchange for this drain, I destroyed the monster in one punch.

Victor followed suit, activating the only skill he’d been granted by his class, {Berserk}. One of the interesting things about his class was that it granted him an epic skill in exchange for less combat options, but the power of this skill was undeniable. He tore through 2 of the monsters with ease, literally ripping them apart as his rage urged him on and filled him with power.

Charlotte started fighting 2 of the monsters as well, her body obviously being guided by a skill that let her use her massive speed to devastating effect. Another two of the monsters died in an instant.

Chetanjeet started firing fireballs, hitting the remaining monsters with pinpoint accuracy. He was outputting an insane amount of damage, killing four in the process.

Simon was genuinely the most terrifying, taking care of the remaining 7 on his own. “Oh mighty Thanatos, friend of my teacher, god of Death, these creatures have rejected your gift, given so freely. They have escaped the natural order, I ask that you show them that nothing can escape the laws of the Divines. {Divine Decree}!”

Once he activated his skill, a purple light started radiating from him, so beautiful and yet so terrifying. It called to me, to all of us, to enter its embrace and even though I wanted to, I also wanted to run. If not for 2 skills steeling my mind simultaneously, I would have probably been unable to move.

As the monsters were drained of the very thing that was keeping them alive, the light disappeared.

[Congratulations you have defeated

12 {Zombies} (Lvls 12-14)

3 {Skeletons {Lvls 10-11}}

You have received 340 Experience points (Split evenly between Party)]

As we got that notification, a sense of relief hit me, replacing the dread I hadn’t realized I’d felt.

“How the fuck did some people do this alone?” Victor asked, panting with exhaustion, the epic skill had drained him almost as much as my mythic skill had drained me.

“They didn’t have to face nearly as many, maybe one or two if they were alone. The system message said as much when we entered, it’s harder because there’s more of us.” Ella answered.

Marie then turned to me. “Are you alright, you look completely drained.”

I nodded. “It seems that having Mythic skills while at this level is not that useful, it’s really taking a lot of energy to punch once, though I have a feeling it’s more because I’m using the full power of the skill rather than what I need, it’s something I’ll need to work on.”

She nodded. She then looked over to notice Simon frothing at the mouth while he was being healed by Ella. It seems Divine skills were even more taxing.

I invested the experience, pushing my level to 15 and leaving me just 20 points shy of level 16.

As I hit level 15 though, I got another message.

[You’ve reached level 15, and have thus met the first of three first form class thresholds.

Rewards are granted based on your class and your current needs.

Generating rewards

…

Skill {Energy Awareness} granted

+220 Free stat points

{Energy Awareness

Passive

Rarity: Legendary

Your body cannot handle the full output of power your skills can bring to the fore, thus, you need control. For control, you need to be aware of what makes your skills tick, you need to be aware of the energy.}]

Well, at least I now had a way to go forward.