Dungeon Experience
As a result of Cordelia getting me all riled up, I had some excess energy to work off. I felt like I probably could do with some good fights or maybe a cold shower. Anyway, I also had my new ability to put to the test too. And it would be nice to know how well it worked in actual combat situations before any real-world enemies caught up with us.
"I never thought I'd wish I could see my stats screen."
<Ping!>
Species: Human
Name: Willie Jennings
Damage - 0/100
Stamina - 90/100
Mana/Capacity - 95/100
Strength - B
Durability - B
Speed - S
Dexterity - C
Intelligence - C
Skills:
Languages ?, DNA Editing ?, Identification ?, Riding 1, Herding 1, Marksmanship 1, Tracking 2, Field Dressing 1, Fire 1, Martial Arts 4, Combat 2, Parallel Processing ?
Magic Skills:
Lightning Magic Level 1, Unknown *Chi Attack* Level?, Unknown *Deflect* Level?, Unknown *Impact Absorption* Level?, Unknown *Aura Reading* Level?, Unknown *Mana Synchronization* Level?, Unknown *Drain* Level?, Unknown *Reposition* Level?, Unknown *Augur* Level?
Unexpectedly, my stats appeared floating in midair a few feet in front of me. After puzzling over it for a few moments, I decided that Cordelia probably had used dungeon functions to somehow replicate them for me.
I noticed the skill levels where I would usually get a boost from my onboard AI were now question marks, and my Intelligence was lower. That got me worried about whether I'd be able to use my new skill at all. The AI had helped me a lot when it came to managing the flow of information. Without it, I might be overwhelmed. I tested the new Augur skill a few times and found that the best I could do was pick out a few seconds of the single most likely future while still focusing on moving my body. By now, I had a decent amount of combat practice, so most of my movements were almost like automatic reflexes. But I still needed to concentrate on what was happening around me in a fight. I figured I just wasn't naturally cut out to multi-task. Somehow I felt like Gilda would be disappointed in me.
Anyhow, once I was satisfied with my stats screen, I tried to activate my targeting assist system. I wasn't surprised that it didn't work since it was part of the now missing onboard AI. However, something else did happen.
<Ping!>
A window popped up with a message.
<Congratulations! You have learned the skill Appraisal.>
Now, anything I concentrated on had information appear above it, somewhat similar to what my overlay would've shown. I still couldn't target anything, though.
When I called up my stats screen again, a new magical skill called Appraisal was there but slightly greyed out. I wasn't sure what to make of that. I had never learned new magic like this before, so somehow, it felt like cheating. Still, Appraisal was, without doubt, welcome since my onboard AI wasn't working. I shrugged as I decided there wasn't any reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.
As I explored the cave, I appraised everything, which was apparently the right thing to do because I was rewarded with another message.
<Ping!>
<Congratulations! Appraisal has reached level 2.>
I noticed the information I was getting was slightly more detailed now. Even that future version of me was never able to learn magic this easily. It had to be some sort of unique dungeon function at work.
Eventually, the cave began to become brighter, and I thought I could feel a slight breeze. As I rounded a corner, I was surprised to find a small green humanoid with pointy ears and a snarling mouth full of sharp shark-like teeth. It didn't hesitate to attack, and since I was caught flat-footed, I forgot to use my Augur skill. I barely had time to register the information above this creature's head, telling me that this was a goblin.
The goblin used a sword that looked way too nice compared to the rest of his shabby outfit. He nearly connected with that initial swipe at my chest, fiercely snarling all the while. Jumping back, I quickly got some distance and analyzed his movements. He didn't seem to be a trained swordsman. Instead, he moved in an almost animalistic way but still used a few feints. He seemed intelligent enough and clearly wanted to use trickery to get me rather than fighting head-on. For my part, I was completely unarmed. I also made the almost unconscious decision to avoid using my attack magic for now. Instead, I just used impact absorption and focused on my martial arts training.
Since he wanted me to fall for one of his feints before attacking, I pretended to do so. He immediately took the bait and moved surprisingly quickly in the direction of the opening I created. The tip of his sword was just about to pierce my shoulder when I suddenly dropped and swept his feet. However, he was far more agile than I'd expected and flipped backward to safety. He was on his feet again in a flash, but now he was far warier of me.
I took a step toward him, being careful to show openings, but he didn't take the bait. Instead, he started shifting to my right, putting the closest cave wall behind me, trying to limit my range of movement. When I took a step toward his new position, he suddenly lept out at me. Before his front foot hit the ground, he was already slashing. While I jerked back to dodge the slash, he was already retreating. It seemed his fighting style was more of an opportunistic hit-and-run approach.
We repeated this cycle several times until my back was close to the cave wall. Which seemed to be what he was waiting for because he suddenly became much more aggressive, trying to pin me between his attacks and the wall. However, his eyes widened when I smoothly stepped into his thrust, barely dodging the point of the sword as it went by. I grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the sword and pulled it forward while twisting. At the same time, I swung the back of my opposite shoulder against his chest. He frantically snapped at me with those sharp teeth, almost making me gag at his truly putrid breath, but it was too late. I used my hold on his wrist to lever him over my shoulder, throwing him against the wall. He scrambled to get up, but I was on him in a flash, pinning his sword to the ground with my foot and smashing his head against the wall with my right hand. It took a few more head bashes before I heard a crack, and his body went limp. I snatched up his sword and, without hesitation, plunged it into his heart to finish him off.
<Ping!>
<Congratulations! You have killed the tutorial goblin. You have been awarded 10 points and the sword of beginnings.>
"Huh, I guess that part is just like the simulations..."
There didn't appear to be a sheath for the sword, and I was surprised to see his corpse vanish while I was searching his body. After he was gone, a new notification appeared.
<Ping!>
<Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Inventory.>
Suddenly, I had information in my head about how to use my new Inventory. I could place up to ten items in a timeless subspace bubble that was magically attached to my soul. These items could be retrieved at will and would appear anywhere within arms reach that I imagined them.
"Well now, that's just frickin' handy..."
I played with placing the sword into and out of the Inventory several times, deeply impressed by this new skill. I was giddy, like a kid with a new toy.
Eventually, I realized I was wasting time, so I started moving toward the exit of the cave. When I stepped out, I found myself surrounded by an Earth-like forest.
As I wandered through the woodland, I fought a few more attacking goblins, which, thanks to the sword, I was able to kill without much fuss. Each time I was awarded the same 10 points. I could've also taken their weapons, but none were worth the limited space in my Inventory. So I ended up throwing only one of the better daggers I got this way into the Inventory, just as a backup weapon.
