Chapter Two: Dungeon World

The soil was damp and cold beneath my fingers. Pain throbbed in my knees and along raw palms. Moist dirt soaked through my clothes.

But what caught my attention most—what dragged me from the disorientation—was my hands.

They weren’t mine.

I’d never been thin, exactly, but I was athletic—toned from years of sports. My hands were always strong, lithe, scarred at the knuckles from long hours in boxing gloves.

Now the scars were gone.

The skin was pale. Cream-colored, almost glowing beneath the strange purple-red haze that floated in the air.

I frowned—and felt something twitch.

My ears.

I felt them shift all the way from their base to their tip—and they were far longer than they should’ve been.

Curious and a little unnerved, I sat up and pressed my strange hands to the sides of my head.

My jaw dropped.

They were... elf ears.

What the fuck was going on?

[You have entered a dungeon well above your level. Extra XP, skill progression, and loot will be granted for every victory you claim.]

[A new quest has been added to your journal.]

[Quest Name: The Huntmaster’s World.]

My mind flashed back to the notifications—the ones that had hijacked my death.

It was like I’d been dropped into a video game.

And not a cozy one.

I wasn’t much of a pro gamer—barely scraped together time for MMOs between school, work, training—but I wasn’t an idiot. This was a System. A real one.

I was shocked, confused, and—yeah—scared.

But I wasn’t the kind of person to just lie down and wait for the world to eat me. Never had been.

I stood. My legs felt steady. The drunken haze was gone, though my body felt... unfamiliar. Taller. Tighter. Alien, yet functional--and strangely still mine.

I was in a dungeon, then. Probably not Earth. And—judging by the notifications and my suddenly elf-adjacent ears—I was probably not human anymore, either.

At least I was still bipedal. Bonus points for that.

Still, I hated not knowing what I looked like. I wasn’t vain, exactly, but I liked to feel in control of my image. Of myself.

I glanced at the twisted, multicolored trees around me—gloomy, dark-barked, towering like cursed redwoods.

No mirrors. No reflections. No idea what I’d turned into.

Still, priorities.

If I had a quest, I probably had a quest log.

“Quest log,” I said aloud.

My voice still sounded like mine... but with a new, odd melodic lilt.

>>

[Current Quests]

1. The Huntmaster’s World

>>

Clean. Minimal. Probably expandable. I focused mentally on the only quest I had. And it did in fact trigger another System pop-up.

>>

[Quest Name: The Huntmaster's World]

The magic-infused home of the Caliban has all but fallen—collapsed from a once-grand world into a mere world dungeon. Cowagen, the Shapestealer, servant of the Archons who stand in opposition to the System and Centrality, has seized control of the former planet's WorldHeart—and with it, the souls of the realm’s last protectors.

Under his influence, citizens have become monsters. And monsters... have become much worse.

Only by freeing the WorldHeart from Cowagen’s grasp can Caliban—and its people—begin to heal.

Objectives:

1. Defeat Cowagen and claim Caliban's WorldHeart.

2. (Optional) Defeat the Four Cardinal Guardians to weaken Cowagen’s forces and reduce his power:

• Ruler of the North: 0/1

• Ruler of the West: 0/1

• Ruler of the East: 0/1

• Ruler of the South: 01

Rewards:

1. Wayfarer’s Sigil. (Single-use System artifact. Grants authorized transport between worlds.)

2. 1 Class-Specific Item. (Rarity Based Upon Performance.)

>>

I put my hand over my mouth. I was shaking a little.

That was... a lot to unpack. A shape stealer? Archons?

Apparently the 'Centrality', who I was pretty sure was behind bringing me here, had some kind of problem with this Cowagen guy. And they, or it or whatever, were willing to dangle a way for me to get back home in my face as a reward for doing their dirty business. Couldn't it just send me back anyway?

Was I really going to have to fight someone just to get home?

I took a deep breath.

Okay. Breathe, Clarissa. The quest mentions a class-item, meaning there have to be classes. Let's treat it like a video game.

“Character sheet.”

>>

[Clarissa Ardent, Level 1]

Class: None

Health: 10 (3 regen/per-minute)

Mana: 50 (8 regen/per-minute)

Stamina: 50 (3 regen/per-minute)

[Stats]

Strength: 1

Physical might.

• Total Baseline Health = Strength x 10.

• Unarmed-Class = Strength

• If Strength is 1 greater than your melee weapon's Weapon-Class add +1 to it.

Endurance: 1

Resiliency and the ability to keep moving.

• Base Armor-Class = Endurance. (Governs what class of weapons, spells, and unarmed attacks can damage you.)

Agility: 1

Speed of movement. Flexibility of body. Speed of reactions.

• Each level of Agility = 10% increase in the progression speed of physical skills.

Charisma: 1

Amplifies physical attractiveness, pleasantness of voice, and ability to read social-interactions.

Perception: 1

Increases awareness range.

• Sight and hearing range are multiplied by your Perception score.

Intelligence: 1

Speed of cognition.

• Governs how long it takes you to learn new spells from spell-scrolls and the results of spell-forging.

• Each point in Intelligence = 10% increase in the progression speed of mental skills.

• Spell-Class gains +1 for every point of Intelligence you have.

Willpower: 1

Your ability to reduce pain and contain mystical energies.

• Mana increases by +10 for every point of Willpower you have.

• Divide your perception of pain by your total Willpower.

[Proficiencies]

One-Handed: Competent

Acrobatics: Competent

Grappling: Competent

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Unarmed-Fighting: Competent

Writing: Competent

[Spells Known]

N/A

[Skills]

N/A

[Perks]

Elder Blood I [B] – As a member of the Caliban race, mana flows through your veins. Your baseline mana is increased and your regeneration increases in tandem with your maximum mana.

• Your baseline mana is increased. (Mana +20.)

• Your mana regeneration increases in tandem with your maximum mana. (Mana regeneration per minute +1 per 10 points of Mana.)

[Inventory (0/50)]

Simple Traveler’s Garb

>>

The sheet spilled open in front of me like an invisible HUD. Helpful but so surreal.

So I was a Caliban now. That name rang a bell--an itsy, bitsy small one.

Wasn’t Caliban the villain from that Shakespeare play? Seemed a little on-the-nose.

Then again, maybe the System had just translated whatever species name I’d actually gotten stuck with.

Still... ominous.

I had no class. Which probably meant I needed to select one.

Moreover it looked like I was pretty low level. And I wasn't understanding a lot of the terms the System sheet was throwing my way.

"Help box?" I asked.

Nothing.

"--System basics?"

>>

[System Basics]

Level: Your current strength. Increased through completing quests, crafting, slaying enemies, or otherwise achieving difficult feats.

Class: Evolvable System focus path. Provides bonuses, quests, and personalized progression. If you do not have a class, please say or think "select class".

Stats: Trait multipliers. Your baseline attributes for your race and personal fitness are represented by a level of 1. Every additional stat point provides a 10% boost in that Stat's strength. For example, someone with a 2 in Strength is 20% stronger than they otherwise would be. Someone with a 3 would be 30% stronger.

Stat-Points: Points that you can use to increase your stats. For levels 1-10, you gain 1 point per level. For 11-20, you gain 2 per level. For 30-40, you gain 3. And so on. Levels are not capped.

Dungeons: Interdimensional questing zones, often sundered worlds or locations cut off from other realities. Time passes at a rate of 1:10 in your favor while you are in a dungeon. 10 days for you is 1 day outside where you entered from.

Quests: Tasks given by the System and Centrality. Rewards to be dolled out for performance.

The Centrality: The intelligence that governs the System.

The System: The method by which you will increase your strength and receive stats.

Inventory-Space: Personal sub dimensional storage space available to all who are integrated with the System.

Perks: Bonuses earned through class leveling, achievements, race, and other methods.

Spells: Extraordinary effects created by harnessing mana.

Mana: Magical-Energy.

Weapon/Spell/Unarmed Class: The level and quality of what you can attack or apply a magical effect with. A level 1 melee weapon will only be able to effectively damage someone with level 1 or 2 Armor-Class. And so on and so forth.

>>

It was more or less a dictionary--or game manual, I guess--and it went on and on. There was a lot for me to think about, but I really didn't even know if I was in a safe place.

The quest I'd gotten had mentioned monsters. I needed to prioritieze what I had to get done.

"Class selection."

>>

[Please Choose Your Starter Class]

Warrior: Gains bonuses to developing physical proficiencies and gains extra physical Stats per level. May develop fighting styles and learn Skills much easier than other classes. Moderate leveling speed.

Rogue: Gains bonuses to developing non-combat proficiencies and gains extra physical Stats per level. Also gains special skills related to one-handed weapons and stealth. Fast leveling speed.

Mage: Gains bonuses to developing magical and mental proficiencies and gains extra magical Stats per level. Also gains mage-exclusive spell-forging bonuses and deciphers spell-matrixes faster. Slow leveling speed.

Sorcerer: Gains the numerical bonuses of both a Mage and Warrior though slightly reduced in potency. Also gains all the magic-related benefits of Intelligence by investing in Charisma instead. And can occasionally spontaneously create spells through force-of-will. Very slow leveling speed.

(System Note: Each class is evolvable and has hidden bonuses.)

>>

I frowned.

Yeah, this was classic fantasy all-right. Warrior, Rogue, Mage--all hinting that the best route was to have a balanced party.

Problem was. I was pretty sure I didn't have many options for that. Unless others had been teleported with me as well? That could be a pipe-dream though.

What if I needed to hit things and couldn't do it well because I was a mage? Or if something was immune to physical damage and all I could do was hit it?

No. If I wanted to survive without a party, I'd need an all-rounder class. Even if that meant taking things slow.

Once I picked this, there probably wouldn’t be any take-backs.

Better make it count.

I selected the Sorcerer class.

[Congratulations. You are now a Sorceress.]

[Perk Added: Sorceress's Soul.]

[Perk Description: You cast and fight with force of personality, not breadth of knowledge. You level both physical and magical stats at a moderately faster rate than others. Charisma now provides all the magic-related bonuses that Intelligence does by default. Moments of high-emotional intensity may occasionally provide you with new spells. (+10 Mana Per Level, +1 Strength Per Level, +1 Charisma Per Level.)]

I exhaled. Okay. It was done now. And at least the perk the class came with looked pretty useful.

Everything was going to be okay... I even had an idea of how to get home. I just had to lay low, get my bearings, and play it smart and safe--

A rustle to my left snapped my attention to it.

My new ears twitched. The motion was sharp—reflexive.

I dropped into a guarded stance. I couldn’t see far through the thick purple-orange foliage, but my hearing... was better. I could track something moving in the underbrush.

Then came the sniffing. Low. Wet. Animalistic.

A gnarled, grey-black foot stepped through the brush—bare, taloned, in desperate need of a pedicure.

I took a step back.

I wasn’t offering one.

If I'd known for sure it was hostile, or that it wasn't faster than me, I’d have bolted. But judging by the sharp inhale-snorts, it already had my scent anyway.

A grotesque face emerged next. One eye gouged out. The socket was still weeping half-dried blood. Its neck was cut to the muscles, along with its abdomen, and it held itself like it was visiting death's door. Stumbling. Ugly. Angry.

It was still way bigger than me. And looked like some troll-orc abomination. Too lean to be a full ogre, but bulky enough to make me nervous.

A status bar shimmered above its head:

[Skulker, Level 30.]

Shit... Shit... SHIT.

It stepped fully into view. Scarred. Trembling. Hungry.

Its lone eye found me—and it grimaced. A crooked, jagged expression, every tooth a sharpened blood-laced point.

“Hungry... pain... food heal,” it muttered.

My stomach flipped. Its body swayed like it could collapse any second, but the look in its eye said otherwise.

How the hell did I even understand it?

“I don’t have food,” I managed.

The creature tilted its head. Its grimace deepened. Relief filled its pained eye.

“Yes...”

Then it lunged. Clumsy. Awkward. Wheezing like it was barely alive.

I moved before it did—barely.

A roar of crashing branches behind me confirmed how close it had been.

I ran. Years of track and roadwork kicked in. My feet responded, gliding over uneven dirt.

My new body was surprisingly not awkward to move with, my breathing control transferred over--if anything it was in better shape that I had been before.

I wanted to question if that was a Caliban thing or a being integrated into the System thing... but I didn't have time.

The Skulker was right behind me. Somehow moving faster and faster as it picked up momentum, even as its torn to shreds body spewed blood everywhere into the multicolored foliage.

“Food! Food!! FOOD!” it shrieked.

Its claws tore through the earth at my heels.

"Leave me alone!"

“Hungry!!”

My ears caught its pain as if it was screaming right into them—closer than close. Too close.

If I kept running, I’d die. It was faster than me.

I dove. Pain screamed through me as claws raked across my arm. My own blood sprayed. I hit the ground hard.

[Warning! Health approaching zero!]

[You are bleeding. -2 HP/sec.]

I gasped. My vision blurred. Blood gushed from my torn arm—exposed to the bone.

I was going to die. Again. Within an hour of my first death.

The skulker staggered toward me. Even injured, it loomed like the monster it was. Up close, I saw the deep, gaping wounds already marring its chest—one gaping gash in particular exposed its heart, pulsing in open air.

How was it still alive?

Was this what level 30 strength looked like?

I couldn’t move, after only one strike. Could barely lift my head. My hair dragged against the ground.

The monster raised its claws.

“Food...” it whispered, tongue lolling from a split and blood-lipped mouth.

My mind drifted to the tunnel of light. Maybe I’d return. See Grandma again. Maybe...

But something twisted in my gut. A resistance.

The System had dragged me back once. Would it let me go this time? Or... do something worse to me? Punish me for not completing its quest?

That thought filled me with rage.

A woman had pulled a gun on me. A System had hijacked my soul. A monster was about to eat me--and not even make me useful, it'd probably die anyway.

Fuck. That.

Heat surged down my arms.

A pulse of energy welled from my chest to my fingertips.

The skulker lunged.

So did I.

[Proficiency Acquired - Fire-Manipulation: Novice.]

[Proficiency Acquired - Spell-Control: Novice.]

[Proficiency Acquired - Spell-Attack: Novice.]

[Proficiency Acquired - Spell-Efficiency: Novice.]

I didn’t care how. My rage, hot and burning, sharpened into intent, my intent into action—and my action into flame.

Fire bled from my eyes. I saw it reflected in the monster’s one good one.

The Skulker hesitated to finish me as I gasped with hatred--flinched for one moment.

I thrust my good arm forward—pure instinct.

A blade of flame formed, wild and unstable, but sharp.

It pierced the exposed heart.

[You have created a spell! Raging Blade [1st] added to spell list.]

[Congratulations! You are the first soul from Earth to create a spell. Reward granted.]

[+10 Mana, +1 Charisma, +1 Strength.]

[Perk Gained: Trailblazer [U]]

The skulker coughed blood. It splattered my face. Stinking and warm.

[Congratulations! You are the first soul from Earth to create a 1st tier spell.]

[+10 Mana, +1 Charisma, +1 Strength.]

[Perk Gained: Raging Sorcery [R]]

It raised a claw in trembling defiance. Its ruined heart spasmed around my heat-waving blade.

[Warning! Health approaching zero!]

[You are bleeding. -2 HP/sec.]

My fury reignited.

My eyes flared again—hotter.

My grip slipped as the blade transformed—flame consuming form.

It launched.

The burning sword slammed through the beast and detonated.

The heart—what was left of it—incinerated.

The creature staggered back.

Still. Then collapsed.

[Congratulations! You have reached Level 2.]

[Level 3.]

[Level 4.]

[Level 5.]

More notifications flooded in.

I collapsed, laughing weakly as my health bar began to crawl back upward.

I’d done barely any damage to its body.

But its already broken heart?

That, I could destroy.

[+1/50 Battle Healing I]

[+1/50 Gloomhunter I]

[+1/50 Incinerator I]

More messages, more perks.

My torn flesh stitched itself together—slowly.

I stared up at the crimson sky.

My only hope had been that the first enemy I'd met had one or two HP left. I'd gotten so lucky.

How the hell was I going to survive this?