Book 1. Chapter 7: Zombie Dungeon

Book 1. Chapter 7: Zombie Dungeon

Jake awoke to a slight weight on his chest. Jake was starting getting used to sleeping near the demoness, but usually she would be floating away somewhere by the time he awoke. He looked at her, and noticed some changes. For one, she was a little larger than before. Second, it was like the shadow fog that covered her body had been reduced somewhat.

He could now see more of her features. Before, he could barely tell that she might be wearing some kind of clothing, but now he could clearly tell that she was wearing what appeared to be a kimono or robes of some kind. He could now also make out some features of her face, such as actually being able to see her lips, and that she had what appeared to be elfin ears. The biggest change was to her size: she was now clearly over a foot and a half tall, to which her other portions grew as well. She was now almost 50% larger than she was when she first arrived.

Jake looked over at the nightstand. The crystal he had given her was now gone. If she used these [Mana Crystals] to improve, why hadnt she asked for one sooner, or for more than just the one? Knowing that she needed them he would have prioritized it; he guessed this might be the real reason why, but he wasnt sure. For once the demoness did not wake moments after he did, so he began to review information in his [Menu]

Dungeon Information

Dungeon:

Beginner Zombie Mausoleum

Time Left:

3 Days, 6 Hours

Goal:

Clear Mausoleum of Zombies

Level:

2-3

It looked like Jake would not be trudging through caves this time, but a mausoleum. The zombies levels were double that of the goblins, so he hoped that they would provide double or more of the experience. He read about dismantling zombies, and found that their cores would be worth double what the goblin cores were worth, and their hands and fingernails could be used for alchemical components. Their equipment was often rusted and worthless, so unless an individual zombie was extraordinarily equipped, he would be ignoring any equipment or clothing they would be wearing.

Removing hands or just the fingernails looked like it would be too much work, but it appeared that with the proper tool and the dismantling skill assisting him, the chore would not be too onerous. Only the amount of space they took in his bag would be problematic. Jake would bring his gym bag for extra hand storagejust thinking about that made him shudder in disgust.

Still, the hands with their fingernails were worth 5 credits each, so each zombie would be like a minor wind-fall at around 15 credits when you include the core. He queued the bone clamp that would make removing the hands much easier for purchase, and realized the demoness still hadnt stirred. Her consuming that crystal must have taken a lot out of her. He decided to move on to spiral practice while he was in bed.

1426 Credits, Armor Box

Next Dungeon:

12 Hours

Jake learned that he would be able to attempt the [Trial] when he was level 8 or above. The [Trial] would behave much like a dungeon from an RPG, having multiple floors with a dungeon master that needed to be defeated, for [The Framework] to take that power and provide Jake access to the greater multiverse.

A box appeared from his portal. His dungeon clear reward included a physical component this time. He retrieved the crate from inside the box, to which the demoness looked on in interest. It appeared that this was like a loot crate; it would create a piece of or suit of armor using a random mechanic.

He read the [Alliance Wiki], the loot box would randomly select armor that would be suited to whomever opened it. He looked over at the demoness, to which she, for her, firmly grasped his shoulder. She was clear that she wanted him to open it, and she would accept no arguments.

With that decided, he went ahead and opened it. What appeared to be a hologram appeared above in a burst of light, and he heard powerful tribal drums beating, and men chanting as the rewards cycled through the possibilities. The demoness looked on with wide eyes, and Jake just wryly smiled; just what had his life come to, that he would be opening loot crates in real life? The roulette stopped on some gloves, and the music and chanting reached its end. Not the most critical place to protect, but it was his first piece of fantasy armor.

Uncommon Item Obtained

Warg-Hide Gloves

Effect:

Increases strength and dexterity slightly.

These gloves would improve both his strength and dexterity. This was useful, but he wondered just how much longer he would train as a warrior. Once he could summon beasts, he would likely be the weak-point that would be targeted; getting into the fighting, even with a longer weapon like a spear seemed like a poor choice.

He would bring much more to the group, spending his time casting spells and directing his summons from the middle or rear of the partys formation. He would only use his spear if something penetrated the formation, or to help cover for an ally that might be even squishier than him.

Jake simply would not have enough attribute points to keep his physical attributes at acceptable levels without giving up far too much in terms of the magical attributes. Especially Summoners, they needed charisma, wisdom, and intelligence at near-equal levels.

That aside, Jake and the demoness did their evening ritual of dinner and a show, and Jake once again supplied her with a [Mana Crystal]. For the foreseeable future, she would be consuming one each evening. Jake was excited for tomorrow: he would finish his spiral, even if it took him all day.