NOVEL NEXT Chapter 9: Dungeon Diving And First Authority
As soon as he vanished from his parent's house, Adam appeared out of thin air in a different location.
"Shit!"
"Dude where did you come from!?"
"I think I peed myself..."
Those who were too close to him at the time he teleported, couldn't help but complain.
I mean, how can someone teleport on people like that, right?
Wasn't it common sense to avoid others when doing so?
If it was common sense Adam didn't know.
' So, this is a dungeon, uh?'
Well, more like... he didn't care.
' I imagined that the gate would be smaller since it is supposed to be an F-ranked one...'
Adam teleported right outside of an F-rank dungeon by using the coordinates provided to him by his phone's app. This was an app that all registered hunters had access to but that was mostly used by solo hunters who were not associated with any guild.
Guilds, especially the big ones, monopolized their dungeons.
They didn't need an app to tell them where to find dungeons when they had them in their 'backyards'.
This is also one of the many reasons why most people joined Guilds instead of going solo.
The Hunter Association may have a greater number of dungeons at their disposal, which could be accessed with a small fee by independent hunters, but this only applied to dungeons within the F and B rank.
The higher-ranked dungeons, where the greatest rewards lay, were mostly in possession of the strongest guilds out there.
So, in a way, the number of dungeons a guild had, determined its worth.
Star City, as the capital city of Atlas, one of the great three nations, did not have a shortage of dungeons at all. But even they could not compete with the guilds in terms of 'dungeon quality'.
" Good afternoon, Mr. Hunter, how can I help you today?"
Since these dungeons were owned by the Hunter's Association, they had workers stationed there 24/7.
At the side of each Dungeon, one could always see a small two-stories building. Here, the hunters not only paid the corresponding fee established by the association, but they could also exchange items and monster body parts that they would've collected inside of the Dungeon for money.
Waving at the male worker politely, Adam proceeded.
" Hey, I was thinking of dungeon diving for a bit. I already paid from the app since I didn't have cash on me."
The worker's business smile widened as soon as the word "paid" entered his ears and he immediately asked for Adam's hunter ID to confirm the payment.
" Everything seems to be alright Mr. Zenith, you may go in as soon as the next group comes out. Even F-rank dungeons have a 'time dilation' so you shouldn't have to wait for long."
The worker then noticed that Adam was by himself and asked.
" Are you entering the dungeon alone?"
' Right, even solo players form parties...'
" Yes."
'But not me. That's too much of a hassle right now. Not to mention that this is just an F-Rank. How hard could it be?'
The worker nodded his head and left Adam by himself in front of the 6 meters tall gate-like structure, which emanated an eerie blue light that would send chills down the spines of any normal person.
'I hope they don't take long...'
...
After around 20 minutes a group of 5 young hunters came out.
Apart from some bruises here and there, they looked totally fine. It even seemed like they did pretty well if the full bag one of them was carrying was anything to go by.
Even though low-level dungeons provided a lesser income the dangers were minor, so it was hard to see hunters dying or getting badly injured.
If they did not go alone that is.
" Good luck kid."
The leading person from the group, a young man who seemed to be in his early thirties, said with a smirk as soon as he saw Adam waiting in line by himself and without any equipment.
" You will need it."
Many newbie hunters die by underestimating F-rank dungeons, the majority of whom meet their end due to going in without a party.
" Am I hearing voices now?"
Ignoring the glaring group of young hunters who looked offended by his innocent remark, Adam didn't waste his time any longer and hurried inside the gate.
....
" Well, what was I expecting?"
As soon as he entered the portal, he was met by a poorly lit cave. The only sound that could be heard was the echoing of his steps as he made his way inside.
'I can barely see anything.'
And with that thought, the magic happened.
[ A random stimulus has triggered a reaction from the host!]
[A new power is being created to counter the stimulus!]
[Pyrokinesis (Rank-A) has awakened!]
[(Description)]
[Y/N]
"..."
At this point, Adam was having a hard time reacting to his system's antics.
" So, I ask for a simple box of matches, and you give me a fucking volcano? That's cool... I guess."
It was surreal, to say the least.
" Show me the description."
[Pyrokinesis (Rank-A)]
[Create and control flames to your liking. Energy expenditure depends on the host's will and imagination when firing flames. The bigger the flame and the more lethal it is, the higher the expenditure. If the flame remains in one of the host's body parts, and it is not fired away toward a target, no energy will be spent.]
" Nice, along with my martial arts, this is pretty much my best offensive skill at the moment."
With a subtle wrist movement, a small amber flame emerged out of Adam's extended right hand.
" Sweet~."
With that, Adam dove into the depths of the cave, accompanied by the flickering of his flame.
....
After 10 minutes of walking, he came by the first monster he had ever seen.
" I expected to see one of you, so I'm not even surprised."
On the opposite side from where he was standing, a green creature that barely reached 130 cm of height, stared at Adam with eyes full of malice. Its pointed ears were perforated and had some earrings pierced in them, clearly stolen from a human who had met their end at this mini monster's hands. A groin cloth was the only thing that prevented the little beast from being naked.
In one of its hands, a rusty dagger pointed toward Adam, a universal sign of hostility.
"Kikikiki!"
Spouting some gibberish, the creature lunged toward Adam at a speed that far surpassed that of a normal human being.
As it reached for Adam's right hand, which was still holding the flame, it suddenly changed directions with a swift turn, attempting to stab him in his left torso.
Just as it was about to make contact with the young man, its vision morphed, with its eyes no longer able to see the human it was attacking. Instead, after hearing a dry *thud* sound, a pair of morbid three-toed green feet came into its view.
What proceeded afterward was darkness, unlike anything it had ever experienced in this humid cave it was born in.
" Shit! I forgot to check its stats! "
Adam lamented as he cleaned his dirty hand with his T-shirt.
This thought was quickly replaced by a shrug, though.
Since he could always check it next time.
Now that he had visited this dungeon for the first time, he could teleport here anytime he wanted, so even if he didn't meet any more goblins today, he could do so on a different occasion.
Before he could navigate on this matter any deeper though, a notification sound stole his attention away.
[Ding!]
[ The host has claimed a monster's life for the first time in his lifetime!]
[Rewards are on their way]
[!]
[ An (EX-Rank) Power Ticket will be transferred to the host!]
[ Will you accept the Power Ticket?]
[Y/N]
" A ticket that gives you a random EX Rank power..."
Adam smiled dumbly at this unexpected but welcomed gift. He decided to accept it later since he didn't need it at the moment.
But then, it hit him...
"W-wait! How could I have forgotten that?!"
Suddenly Adam sat on the floor, his back touching one of the cave's walls. Then, with a hurried hand movement, he erected a semicircular firewall that covered his front and sides, just in case a monster approached him.
" Show me 'Adaptive Regeneration's' description."
[Adaptive Regeneration (Rank EX)]
[What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger... Literally.]
"..."
If Adam could express how he was feeling right now it would be within the boundaries of annoyed and perplexed.
Was expecting a proper description for his only EX Rank Ability too much?
" Let's move on."
Refusing to get mad at the system or whoever created it, Adam stood up and undid the firewall that was surrounding him.
Like this, Adam continued to travel down the cave, a bit upset, but nothing much.
...
20 dead goblins later.
" Looks like my worries were unnecessary."
Sitting on top of a small mountain of dead goblins, Adam skimmed through his stats.
[Status]
Name: Adam Zenith
Age: 21
Level: 3
Race: Human
Karma: error!
[Stats]
HP: 150/150 (Health Points)
EP: 350/350 (Energy Points)
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 16
Stamina: 20
Intelligence: 15
Luck: Error
Free Stats: 10!
Looking at the '!' sign indicating a new feature had been added, Adam noticed that now he had free stats to spend.
He was so absorbed in killing a group of approaching goblins that he didn't even notice he had leveled up twice already.
His health points saw an increase of 25 and his mana an increase of 50 for each level he gained.
Not thinking too much about it he simply added four points to dexterity, five to strength, and the remaining one to intelligence.
A sudden surge of power overwhelmed him for a second before his body adapted to it.
"I can get used to this feeling."
Looking back at his stats, Adam sighed in slight disappointment.
Back when he fought Bakugo, when he met Irene, even when he fought the goblins a few minutes ago, every time he used his 'Eyes of Truth' on them no stats could be seen.
He thought that maybe he needed to use it on someone he was equal in rank to, but it appeared as though that wasn't the case.
It was as if...
Only he could level up and have stats in this world.
' Only I can level up, uh?'
Suddenly, Adam started laughing his ass off when he remembered the title of one of his favorite manhwas from his last life.
He enjoyed every second of it when he read it. Especially the scenes where the main character calls forth his army of undead.
Unconsciously, he wished for something like that.
' That dude's powers were so sick...'
Then, it happened again.
If he wasn't already tired of surprises for the week, what happened next would be the last straw that broke the camel's back.
[ A random stimulus has triggered a reaction from the host!]
[A new pow@!#$-error-]
[Corrections are needed to be made...]
[!]
[Apologies for the wait!]
[Corrections have been finally made!]
[ A new authority is being created to counter the stimulus!]
[ True God of Shadows Authority (Rank- Origin) has Awakened]
[(Description)]
[Y/N]
"Eh?"
For the first time since acquiring his Calm Mind skill, Adam's face contorted into an incredulous grimace. Sweat kept pouring like buckets all over his body as he read and re-read the system's notification, over and over again.
" Now, this is too broken."
As silence prevailed, so did Adam's resolve to adapt to and dominate this new world.
But could you blame him?
In less than 24 hours, Adam was already about to become a frightening being.
.
.
.
.
.
(A/N: I know I said I would take two weeks, but they reschedule some of the work I had to do this week so here's a new rushed chapter to keep y'all busy.
Now I will not upload for two weeks for real this time...
I swear.
Btw, before anyone complains, "Overpowered" is one of the tags...
If you know, you know.