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Chapter 61: Cleared Floors
🕑 Added 2025-03-19 05:25:13 +0000 UTC"Well, here we are. There are repurposed motels down there. You may leave the day after tomorrow. Is there anything you need?" Silas asked.
James raised his hand toward the translucent purple barrier. The nuclear reactor's cooling tower was within view. A message appeared before him:
[Dungeon name: GM3452
Dungeon level: Novice
Survivor: 6/15
Would you like to enter? Y/N]
"Fifteen?" James muttered.
"Ohh, so this is what you see." Sanders tried to mimic what James did. Since he had become a survivor, the notification box also appeared for him.
"Last time we checked was a week ago. On the survivor count, it should have been 8/15." Silas said.
"Shit. It says 6/15 just now." Sanders said. Silas frowned when he heard the number.
"Thanks to Mr. James' valuable intel and gifts, we will now strive to strengthen our members." Silas sighed.
"Sorry, but I'm going to need my stuff back. Maybe that ball will prove to be of value. You can still keep the grenade," James said.
"I see. Here we are. Do you need the axe as well?"
"No. You can keep the axe. Unless Anderson or Sanders need it."
"No. I'm already invested in swords." Sanders said while brandishing his weapon. Kaina also nodded while holding her spear.
"Alright. Have you checked your stuff?"
"Yes, sir! We are ready to go anytime!" Sanders said as several army personnel lined up behind him. James tilted his head as he looked at them.
"Who are they?"
"Reporting to Private Sanders. We are from the Fourth Emergency Dungeon Battalion. We are here under your command."
"I hope you can raise these puppies to be hardened dungeon veterans like Sanders and Anderson. There are four of you and nine slots left, so five people from the army will join you. Of course, your primary mission will be to clear the dungeon first and foremost." Silas said.
"Hm… I can't guarantee their lives. They might die, you know." James said.
"Of course. The completion of the dungeon takes precedence. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for the cause," Silas said.
"Well, suit yourself. So, who is coming with us?" James sighed. Then, five people stepped up in order. Kaina skipped toward James as he touched the purple barrier.
"Wait, we should go together, just in case." Kaina said, and James nodded. At the notification box, James selected "Yes," and the nine people teleported.
James scanned the surroundings and tilted his head, noticing that the five new soldiers were still carrying their guns along with their backpacks.
"Hm? I thought your supplies disappeared?" James said.
"Our supplies start disappearing once we're inside the dungeon, not the waiting room," Anderson explained, and Sanders nodded.
"I see."
"Introductions are in order. My name is Anderson. While I am in the army, the guild operates differently from the regular military. There is no rank higher than squad leader here, and the squad leader is Mr. James, the most experienced survivor among us." Anderson said.
"I am Kaina."
"I am Sanders."
"My name is Alfonso, sir."
"My name is Bertrand, sir."
"My name is Charles, sir."
"My name is Donald, sir."
"My name is Evan, sir."
"Seriously?" James muttered, trying to hold back his laughter. He then continued. He had been appointed as the team leader for these guys and had already been paid for it. He at least needed to give orders and assign tasks.
"Once we're inside, we need to find supplies—food and the like. In an emergency, we can rely on Anderson's unique skill. If you encounter a monster, warn me. I will help you, but you guys need to cooperate and at least kill one monster each to receive your status." James said.
"Empty-handed?" one of the soldiers asked.
"You should be given a weapon by the system. Use that."
"Yes, sir." the five soldiers said. The briefing didn't last long as they landed straight inside a jungle. Dense trees marred their vision as the sprawling greenery and humid air surrounded them. A golden arrow appeared in the distance, denoting where the portal was.
"My gun is gone! I was holding it!" one of the soldiers exclaimed.
"So they gave a bow as well. Is that a club?" James muttered. The five soldiers were given a bow, a spear, a club, a shield, and an axe.
"Alright! Form up! As you can see, unregistered weapons cannot be brought inside the dungeon. Mr. James has lent you some advanced weapons. This axe is for you. Don't throw it away unless it is absolutely necessary, even if you find another. It is valuable because you can upgrade it with the shop function." Sanders handed James’s axe to the soldier using the shield.
James and the trio donned their armor. James rolled his eyes as the three wore their armor over their military uniforms. The system was strict in its filters, not even allowing military jackets to be carried.
"Careful. I heard something," James muttered. He then brandished his axe and sword. The trio immediately stood guard, wary.
A shadow leaped from the bushes. Thanks to James' echolocation, he heard the distinct rustling of the leaves. The shadow met his lightning axe head-on. Even without a weapon skill, the creature didn't survive when James struck it on the head.
"Contact! Watch your six!" Sanders shouted as he brandished his sword.
James looked at them, amused. As if they had trained beforehand, the trio and new recruits formed a circle, facing outward. James glanced at them, entertained by their antics. A notification box then appeared before him. This time, his class didn't level up. The monster was weak.
[Congratulations. You have earned 10 coins.]
"Jesus. That’s some biohazard monster right there!" Soldier A said as he looked at the black creature that crawled on all fours. The creature resembled a human, but its skin was chitinous black, and its arms were elongated to aid in crawling. Its legs were spread apart to facilitate its jumping ability, and its fingers had long claws like daggers.
Seeing such a thing would normally instill fear, but James smirked instead. Such hands could not hold weapons, and thus, it couldn't use weapon skills. Without weapon skills, it would be difficult to inflict serious wounds, let alone kill him.
"System, how many floors are there?" James asked.
[There are 5 floors in total.]
"Hmm… that's fewer than I thought. Where are the other survivors? Which floor?"
[That is classified information.]
"Alright. What's this monster got?" James said.
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
Heart of Agony (Resistance to Mind Magic) (Heart Slot)
"What about the arms and the legs?"
[Its limbs are inferior to your current limbs.]
"I see. No need to show me then." James didn't have much expectation when he saw the coin rewards. These mobs were weaklings. He then turned toward the greenhorns. "Follow me. We shall find more of these creatures, and you shall kill them to earn your status screen. As you can see, these creatures have dagger-like claws and seem good at hiding themselves. Well… I will try not to kill them when we meet another one."
"Damn… who is he?"
"Our boss. He is the one that liberated that dungeon in America," Sanders said proudly. After all, he thought of James as his brother. Anyone who had fought alongside him was family—that was his creed.
It didn't take long for James to find another one of those creatures. However, finding them and not killing them proved to be harder than he thought. James brawled with the creature, holding off on drawing his weapon.
"Hurry up! Charge! Stab it in the guts! Smash its head! Hurry!" Sanders commanded.
"You've got to be kidding me," James muttered as they finally managed to kill the creature—a whole ten minutes later—even though he had already broken its arms and legs when he brawled with it. He did not remember having that much trouble against goblins. He wondered whether this creature was truly that much stronger than a horde of goblins.
"These guys were… you know, I kinda expected a bit more. Were you guys like this?" James asked. Sanders and Anderson had thousand-yard stares as they remembered their first battle against the giant rat on the first floor.
"We are thankful for your assistance, Mr. James. This corpse was worth 10 coins in its entirety. Our first battle was much more dangerous. We had one critically wounded among our ranks at the time. We had to battle a giant rat the size of a car. We stabbed and slashed at it while it chewed our friend with its teeth," Anderson recalled their first battle while selling the corpse to his new shop.
White motes of light gathered around the corpse and consumed it. The motes of light then transformed into silver coins before being absorbed into Anderson.
"Yeah. I thought we were goners then. Afterward, we found some chests with lots of coins. We then upgraded our weapon mastery so that we could have access to weapon skills. Kaina said weapon skills were important." Sanders sighed.
"That's what Kouki said…" Kaina muttered.
"Alright. Gather up! Now that you have received your status, does anyone have unique skills?" Anderson rallied the soldiers.
Soldier A raised his hand. "I received Taunting Master, sir. It says that I can attract enemy attention to attack me."
Soldier B followed. "I received Party Surveillance, sir. It says that I can see what my party members see."
Soldier C continued, "I received Life Detection, sir. It says that I can detect any nearby lifeforms up to 20 meters."
Soldier D said that he received a Mana Core with Wind Magic as his special ability. James wondered whether he was lucky or cursed. His gamer instinct told him he was a trash character, but his survival instinct said he might be one of the lucky few. He might even dual-wield magic like James did when he reached level 20.
The last soldier, Soldier E, said he received a Binocular Eye that could zoom in up to 8x magnification and correct trajectory up to forty meters.
James then gave the appropriate weapons to them. Shield and Axe to Soldier A. Spear and Lightning Axe to Soldiers B and C. Club to Soldier D. Bow to Soldier E.
"System, how many coins do I need to upgrade to Shop Level 2?" James whispered to the system as he and the team scouted the area. Thanks to the new unique skills his party had, reconnaissance became much easier.
[It would require 1000 coins. Currently, you have 1102 coins remaining.]
"Alright. Get me the shop," James said. He knew he might regret this decision, but there was no turning back now. He would need Shop Level 2 to convert his System Gems.
James had forgotten that the guild had someone with a special skill to transfer coins. Nevertheless, even if he had remembered, he had already decided not to rely on anyone. He would still buy Shop Level 2 regardless.
[Done. Shop Level 2 is now unlocked. You have access to High Health Potions and Antidote Potions.]
"Alright," James nodded while continuing his quest.
