Dimension Beta

Tom began telling the group what had happened in the kobold cave. He explained how he met a man who he suspected was a vampire and how he was cursed. The others were shocked at how much Tom had gone through in just the past 24 hours.

"Then how did you get healed?" Stahl asked, his tone skeptical.

As Tom spoke, an idea came to him. He decided to twist the truth a little. "I made a pact with someone," he said, carefully choosing his words.

The group immediately grew tense.

Pablo leaned forward. "I hope it wasn't with the forces of darkness," he said cautiously.

Tom shook his head. "No, don't worry. I made a pact with a person from this city. They were able to heal me, but in return, I had to promise to protect them and, if needed, help them escape the city if it's ever overrun by darkness."

The group looked at each other, their doubt clear. Who in this city could possess such power?

"I know it sounds suspicious," Tom admitted, bowing slightly. "But if you trust me as much as you've worried about me, then please believe me."

With no clear argument, the others eventually let the matter drop. One by one, they left the tavern, convinced that Tom was safe for now and relieved the curse had been lifted.

"You should rest for today," Pablo advised. "The shop's closed anyway, and you've earned a break."

"Thanks, Pablo. I'll see you tomorrow," Tom replied as he stepped out into the night. Alone, he asked himself, What now?

The answer came to him quickly. He left the city, heading west at a steady pace. Though slower than he used to be, Tom had grown used to his reduced speed. He entered a forest known to host wolves between levels 30 and 40. Planning to climb a tree for safety, Tom grabbed a branch, but it snapped under his weight, and he landed hard on his back. He wasn't hurt, but the fall was jarring.

Before he could gather himself, the rustling of a nearby bush caught his attention. A wolf leapt out, clearly drawn by the noise.

"Great," Tom muttered as he got to his feet. The wolf lunged at him, but he managed to deflect the bite with his arm and counter with a kick. His movements were sluggish, and the wolf easily dodged before biting him again.

A notification flashed: -33.

The damage was minimal, which gave Tom some relief.

He shifted into a fighting stance and began throwing punches, but the wolf dodged every strike. Frustration bubbled up until he remembered the brass knuckles Stahl had given him.

 Pulling them from his spatial pouch, he tried again, only to find his attacks were still too slow. Worse, his weapon's attack speed bonus didn't activate because missed punches didn't count as hits.

After yet another failed attack, Tom angrily punched a tree. To his surprise, the notification for an attack speed stack appeared. Realizing the potential, Tom began punching the tree repeatedly, ignoring the wolf's bites. Another notification flashed: -44. The damage was still negligible.

After a minute of this, Tom had lost around 500 health but gained 100 stacks of his weapon's passive ability. "Now you're dead!" he shouted, charging at the wolf.

The creature tried to dodge, as it had before, but Tom's enhanced speed caught it off guard. His punch connected, slamming the wolf into a tree with a loud thud.

 A massive -500 appeared, and the stunned wolf collapsed. Tom delivered one last kick to end the fight.

"Damn, I'm slow," he muttered. Then, with a small grin, he added, "But I hit like a truck."

Motivated, Tom hunted more wolves, but maintaining his attack speed stacks proved tedious. He found himself punching trees between fights, building up the buff before engaging the next wolf.

After hours of combat, Tom realized he had gained two levels. Exhausted but satisfied, he decided to stop for the night.

Following the trail of corpses, he skinned the wolves, filling his spatial pouch with over 300 pelts. By the time he finished, it was 3 a.m. He teleported back to the city and logged out.

Hungry and drained, Tom grabbed some cookies from his nightstand and quickly ate them before falling asleep. He didn't wake until noon the next day.

When he finally got up, Tom headed to the kitchen, where his mother was preparing a snack. Seeing him, she made something for him as well. They sat at the table together, and she noticed his good mood.

"Something good happen, Tom?" she asked.

With a mouthful of food, Tom nodded and mumbled, "Mmm-hmm." After swallowing, he added, "I got two amazing weapons!"

He explained their effects in detail, though he decided not to mention his new race just yet. They chatted a little longer before Tom returned to the game.

Back in the world, Tom headed to the alchemy shop but found it locked. Circling around to the back, he found the door open and went inside. The shop was empty, but as he ventured further, he noticed the trapdoor leading to the basement was uncovered.

Heading downstairs, he heard Pech's voice barking orders. "Not like that, you stone heads! More to the right. No, the other left!"

Tom entered the cellar to find Pech commanding a group of crude stone golems as they excavated a large hole.

"What are you doing now?" Tom asked, confused.

"Perfect timing," Pech said with a grin. "Let's go upstairs."

Once upstairs, Tom asked again, "What's with the digging?"

"When the city falls, that will be our escape route," Pech replied confidently.

Tom frowned. "Isn't that the wrong direction?"

Pech smirked. "Everyone else will flee the way you're thinking. We'll appear behind the enemy lines, where they'll least expect us."

Tom considered this but asked, "Why not just use a spatial mage to make a portal?"

"When the darkness attacks, spatial teleportation will be locked. We won't know until it's too late."

"Then why not leave now?"

"They'll track me down no matter when I leave," Pech replied, avoiding further explanation.

Tom's curiosity grew. Why would they track him? What's his story? But Pech moved on.

"So, the plan is simple," Pech said.

First, and most importantly, your personal strength. You need to focus on leveling up as fast as possible. Ideally, you should aim for somewhere between level 150 and 200 before the attack happens. Of course, this depends on when the attack actually comes.

"What?! 150 to 200? That's the average level of an experienced adult player! I don't think even my mother is that high level!" he thought to himself.

"Second, we need to gather funds. A lot of them. If we can manage to scrape together around a 50 million gold, we can hire a skilled mercenary. Someone high-level who can act as a bodyguard for me when things inevitably go sideways."

Tom blinked. 50 million gold? That wasn't pocket change. Even for adults, that kind of money took serious effort to accumulate. He wondered where they were supposed to even start with that goal. This is sounding more ridiculous by the second.

Pech then paused, turning to look directly at Tom. "And third... we need people. Specifically, I need you to recruit a few reliable helping hands. I'm looking for a healer, a transfer knight, and a beast master."

"I'd prefer if these recruits are still at relatively low levels," Pech added. "That way, I can personally guide them on how to allocate their stat points and abilities. They don't need to be powerhouses. Level 100 within a year should be sufficient."

Tom frowned. Within a year? For three specific classes? That's asking a lot.

Pech clapped his hands together, looking satisfied. "Well, that's the plan for now. Any questions?"

Tom took a deep breath and stared at him. Then he finally said what he was thinking.

"Yes."

"Sure, tell me," Pech said, folding his arms.

"Are you crazy, old man?" Tom blurted out, his voice filled with disbelief.

Tom took a deep breath, clearly frustrated. "First of all, for normal people to reach level 100, it already takes about a year. For me to reach level 150 or 200, I'd need at least four years. And that's assuming I do nothing but level up."

Pech listened without interrupting.

"Second," Tom continued, "collecting 50 million gold coins? That's more than what a household earns in ten years of hard work. How are we supposed to come up with that kind of money?"

Pech nodded slightly, acknowledging the point but remaining silent.

"And third," Tom said, "where am I going to find three people willing to throw their futures away and let someone else decide their career path without getting anything in return?"

"Hmm… you're not wrong about the last part," Pech admitted. "How about this?" He reached into his bag and pulled out three small vials, handing them to Tom.

Tom looked at the labels.

[Reset Potion]

Resets all your stat and fusionskills. Only works up to level 120.

Tom stared in disbelief. "Reset potions? These alone could make me rich for life if I sold them!"

As if being able to read his mind, Pech cut him off before he could ask. "Don't bother asking if I have more. I only have three."

Tom sighed and put the potions into his spatial pouch.

"You can offer these as a guarantee," Pech said. "If someone doesn't like the path I've chosen for them, they can use this to reset their stats and start over. It's an insurance policy."

Tom looked skeptical but said nothing. A moment later a question crossed his mind. "What are fusionskills?" he asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Pech replied cryptically.

Before Tom could ask anything else, Pech added, "Also, stop putting points into agility."

Tom frowned. "What? If I don't invest in agility, I won't be fast enough to hit anything."

"Don't worry," Pech said, his tone casual. "The kind of monsters you'll be hunting in the future won't be the kind you can miss."

Tom didn't like the sound of that, but Pech didn't elaborate further.