AN
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Gamer Manga. Any game references used belong to the respective game creators.
AN
Chapter 4: Dungeon Encounter at School
Ding!
You have slept in your bed. HP & MP restored to 100%. All negative status effects and ailments have been cured.
Harry tapped his pencil lightly on the test book. Trying to find something of interest, he scanned the classroom as the teacher droned on.
Already he could see Dudley drooping on his chair.
'And this is just the first period… unbelievable'
Finding nothing of interest, he switched his attention to this Stats. His eyes immediately latched on to his attributes, especially on his INT which was now 11.
'Damn all that grinding and that's all I get. And the price for getting that 1 point in INT is the new torture called class…'
Shutting out the droning of the teacher, the contents of which he had progressed long ago, he once again turned his attention back to his powers.
'Then again it helped me realise the importance of getting my attributes above the 10 mark'
Ding!
You have gained more than 10 points in INT!
+1 to WIL
'I know it's a poor choice, but seriously those free points are just begging me to add them to my attributes'
Shaking his head lightly, Harry refocused his will. 'No, that would be a stupid mistake.'
'The fact that I haven't gotten any quest is worrying. And I still have no clue about any dungeons'
He spared a brief scowl at the teacher who has taken it as his mission to knock out everyone with his droning. 'If only I could ditch classes, then I could go about and look for some dungeons, but where do I find one? It's not like there is a place with a sign saying Dungeon Ahead'
As recess arrived, Harry huddled down in his favourite spot, the library. With the option of going out and exploring for dungeons seemed impossible, Harry started researching possible Dungeon locations.
From the time he played Dudley's game and read about in the game guide, he knew that dungeons were usually found in regions like Forests, Castles, Mountains, Caves and Ruins.
Tracing his fingers across the map of Surrey spread before him, he let out a groan. "Great the only place nearby is the Surrey Woodland and even that is more than half an hour journey by foot"
Shaking his head, he rolled up the map to put in back in its place. 'Well at least I now have one possible dungeon location. I will have to find a way to go and check it out without arousing suspicion of my relatives'
Retreating towards a nearby bookshelf, he continued his pondering. 'Hmm, isn't Dudley's birthday in the summer. They always leave me alone either with Mrs. Figg or in the house to go and do something for Dudley. That could be the perfect time for some exploring'
Thinking about Mrs. Figg brought his thoughts to the chain quest that is still pending, Harry knew that it was important to him as completing the quest would lead him to the answers he had been looking for all this time, his true identity.
"It's not like I can camp out in front of her house," Harry randomly shifted through the contents of a book he took. "The Dursley's would never give me that much free time. Not only do I have find when she access this wizarding world, I have to find how as well"
With nothing else to do, Harry utilised his time in the library to make a list of possible dungeon locations and the distance between his place and such locations.
'I could do one or two dungeon checks during summer and if possible, a dungeon run too. Under the right conditions it won't be too much of a hassle…probably'
'Assuming I do get free time during summer and find a dungeon'
Harry shook his head. 'Yikes, I need to level up if I am to brave a dungeon. More skills than FireBall and damn it! I forgot about defence skills'
The rest of the school days after having done sufficient research for dungeons, was spent exploring the entire school compound trying to find a place where he could train without interruption and away from prying eyes.
Luckily or unluckily depending upon perspectives, during these explorations Harry received two more [Harry Hunting] quests which netted him a total of 10 EXP. His own experiments in figuring out more about his power continued at a pace and further experiments helped Harry in learning that eating foods and drinking water, juice or milk restores 50 HP and MP for each item he ate or drank.
'Though it will be meddlesome to drink or eat in the middle of a battle'
Then another P.E. Period arrived and during said period, Harry was assaulted with the usual hassle as well as a few dodge balls. While being everyone's favourite target wasn't nice, he was able to grind his END stat during his impersonation as a punching bag, which he considered to be a bonus.
0o0o0o0
*pew*
"Alright boys, group up, quickly, quickly," the muscle brained teacher yelled.
Seeing the students grouped into two neat lines, he gave a satisfactory nod.
"Good, now it's time for dodgeball. Ok anyone sick or feeling unwell should inform me now, and no you won't be able to cop out," the teacher said looking into the kids' eyes to let them know he was serious.
After getting everything sorted out, balls were distributed, lines were drawn, targets were spotted and all that needed for this powder keg to blow was the teacher's whistle.
"Well, now that has been settled, let's get to thrashing"
*pew* *pew*
And everything promptly went to hell, Harry was the prime target for Dudley and his gang followed by other opportunists who smelled blood like the hungry sharks they were, swarmed him as well. The teacher laughed watching all the commotion.
'The bloody bastard and stupid toe-rags'
Harry cursed both the teacher and his tormentors as he dodged, ducked and weaved through the spit fire.
Luck was definitely not on his side as mere moments in, he got hit squarely on the face, making him fall flat on the mat.
'Ah fuck'
Ding!
By constantly enduring, you have gained +2 END!
'At least I got END for getting hit', Harry sighed as the class ended.
Ding!
You have gained more than 10 points in END!
+100 HP
'Sweet!... I can't wait for other stats to get past the 10 mark'
Another month passed and Harry as usual was sneaking around school more using his [Sneak] skill rather than hiding in the library as he got better at avoiding his bullies.
The target for day was the lone storeroom at the far end of the school, which was a separate building in of itself. The storeroom was separated from the school by a small play yard and by railings all around them.
From all the memories he had of the school, Harry couldn't find anyone other than the school janitor who visited the room. It was this fact that prompted Harry to check out the far off location as a possible place for training.
Yet as he closed upon the building, he could feel something eerie about the building. The closer he got to it, the more he felt like he was walking in to the centre of a web made out of something sinister.
'Is it me or has my imagination gone wild again?'
Harry gulped down his anxiety and approached the building through the open gate.
Slowly striding past the wide open door, Harry entered the gloomy dark room that was made out of red bricks.
"Whaddya doin here kid?," a creaking voice startled Harry enough to make him jump a little.
Whirling around, he came face to face with the thin yet sturdy body of the school janitor. Looking up, he found the gruff face that was adorned with an unevenly cut beard.
"Just looking around mister"
Harry kept a steady tone, "Why is there a problem?"
"Problem, of course there is. Those stinking no good rats are the problem. No matter what I do they just come back again and again. It's like there is no end to them. You better stay away kid or they might just swarm you to death"
With his piece said, the janitor went out.
But Harry didn't pay any attention to the janitor's warning as he was engrossed in studying the new quest that appeared.
Ding!
You have received a D-level Quest!
[Raterminator]
Quest Synopsis: Exterminate all the rats in the store room
Quest Requirement: None
Quest Rewards: 50 EXP
Special Reward: 1000 EXP, 5 Free Attribute Points, 1 Realm Key
Quest Failure: Get rat poisoned and possible death
Accept / Decline
"1000 EXP!"
As soon as Harry pressed 'Accept', a small tremor shook the store room making him stumble. Regaining his bearings, Harry watched in utter fascination as the wall opposite the store room entrance started morphing and an archway formed before him.
Harry was struck with awe as the bricks started folding over themselves, the hole that formed started getting bigger as more bricks folded away, morphing into a large Archway.
"Woah"
Harry's mouth was slightly ajar as he took in the magical transformation. Shaking his head, he carefully inspected the archway that was definitely giving him ominous vibes.
The archway, Harry noted, was big enough to fit someone like him and while he had the urge to explore what could possibly be a dungeon and the bountiful rewards it could give him, he also felt a sense of caution as well.
Eventually his curiosity got the better of him as he slowly moved closer to the Archway. During his short approach, Harry had taken out the baseball bat that was stored in his [Inventory] as a weapon.
[Baseball Bat (Wood)]
Damage: STR +2
Enchantments: None
Requirement: None
Durability: 160/160
Special Effects: None
[Plain old baseball bat, duh!]
His small steps brought them near enough for him to peer into the darkness, but he failed to see even an inch inside as the darkness was overpowering. Before he could make the last decision to enter the dungeon, Harry was pushed into the archway by an unknown force.
"Shit!"
Harry cursed as he found himself falling down into a pit of darkness followed by a loud announcement that echoed in his ears.
Ding!
You have entered an Instant Dungeon!
[Ratacombs - Instant Dungeon - Class D
Required Level: None
Mob Level: 1 ~ 3
Boss Level: 5
Hidden Boss: None
Time Limit: None]
Ding!
You have entered a Mana Void Region
HP and MP Regen Blocked
"Gahhh!"
Harry let out an unmanly scream as he fell forward, losing his grip on the bat as he plunged into his doom. The many hours of being bullied by his cousin and schoolmates now helped Harry in bracing for the unexpected fall, that along with the fall being much shallow resulted in him coming away with only slight bruising.
"What the hell?"
Harry quickly scrambled up, looking wildly around him. Seeing only walls made out of dark oily black rocks on every side except for an opening towards the front, and seeing no exit out of the cave raised his panic to a new height.
Harry quickly backed up against a wall, his eyes wide and face pale. Harry was slowly being drenched by his own sweat as he tried to calm himself down. Failing to calm down, Harry did the only thing that he had done in the past whenever his Uncle bolted him inside the cupboard threatening to break his arms, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying and failing to keep that odd flash of red hair, which had calmed him many times before, in his mind.
Seconds, followed by minutes, tickled by as Harry stood there with his back pressed against the wall, his sight and senses completely shut from his surroundings. Slowly and very barely, Harry calmed himself down and came back to himself, finally allowing him to take in his surroundings properly this time around.
The place that Harry found himself in looked like the inside of a mountain cave, like the ones he had seen pictures of in books, only more real and with a sinister feel to it. All around him, the walls of the cave packed in closely, barely allowing him to stand and move without scraping himself against the walls.
As he looked around, Harry suddenly realised that he could see without much problem even though there wasn't any visible light source anywhere near him. Keeping the oddity in the back of his mind, Harry started looking for a way out.
"There is no hole up top. How the hell did I fall?"
He looked up and about, only finding a jagged enclosing of sharp oily black spears almost like stalactites, ready to fall down on the unwary. It was then that Harry suddenly remembered that he heard an announcement of sorts when he fell.
"So it's a dungeon after all"
Looking closely at the notification, he corrected himself, "An Instant dungeon called Ratacombs?"
Harry then looked around thanking his [Gamer's Mind] for helping to quickly calm down.
"My Regen is cut off, shit. Looks like I need to figure this out on my own"
Harry sighed then he straightened up as another thought hit him. "Damn I can't loiter around or someone will find that I am missing and my relatives will find out about my adventure, which only results in one thing… getting beaten, locked up and starved"
That particular conclusion instilled him with a renewed vigour, making Harry quickly shake away all his wariness and hesitation. Picking up the baseball bat that he dropped during his fall, Harry moved to the only path that lay ahead of him, Forward.
*Drip*
*Drip*
*Drip*
The silence of the first leg of his trek along the cave pathway was broken by what seemed like water dripping onto a pool of water, which echoed louder but still giving off the feeling of it being far away with each step Harry took. At first Harry was tense, almost expecting something to jump out of the shadows that laid in his path. But as he progressed further, his taut nerves calmed down and Harry relaxed just a bit, enough to ponder the unnaturalness of what happened to him.
"It should be related to the Instant Dungeon. Maybe it's in a pocket dimension of sorts"
Harry aired his thoughts, mainly to ward off the uneasiness he felt. "There was no opening for me to fall in, I wonder how far my gamer powers affect my surroundings or is it something else?"
His relaxed nerves tightened straight away as he met his first obstacle.
A fork in the tunnel ahead, one to the left and one to the right.
Hesitating for what felt like an hour but was barely minutes, Harry threw caution to the wind as he chose the path to the right. 'Better not waste time as I have a feeling both will eventually meet back up'
And the path Harry had chosen led him right to the first alive thing on his trek, a rat, which seemed a bit bigger than normal to him.
"Although...I have never seen a rat before"
Harry muttered lightly as he discarded his curiosity on the grey rat and decided to move on.
Or rather he would have if not for the rat suddenly going crazy, squeaking loudly as it launched itself at Harry, startling him and making him fall on his back as the rat bit and clawed with what little natural weapon it possessed.
"Get off me!"
Harry, though startled, was quick to react as he threw off the rat, backing away from the direction of the rat with his bat in hand, getting some space between them. His renewed vigil aided him immensely as the rat launched itself against him with no rational fear maring its actions.
Harry dealt a vicious swing, square on the rat, using the help of his improved dexterity to pull it off in a timely fashion that launched the rat against the jagged wall, where it met its death quickly.
The sight of the wet bloody and squelchy thing, half of which was stuck on the wall while the other half dropped towards the ground leaving a bloody trail as it slid across said wall, made Harry nauseous. He quickly looked away and tried hard to keep the contents of his stomach inside. With shaky legs Harry moved a bit forward, using the other wall to support his slow movements. The oily yet hard texture of the black jagged stone wall only added to the nausea he felt.
Then he promptly knelt down as he let out a garbled breath, while studiously ignoring the mess some little distance away from him.
"What the hell was that?"
Harry asked no one in particular as he calmed down from his recent kill of an animal, yet this time someone or rather something answered back, well sort of an answer at least.
Ding!
You have received 1 damage!
-1 HP
Ding!
You have attacked a target!
Combat Information gathering . . . . . .
Information Acquired!
[Rat - Pest - Lvl 1
HP: 10/10
MP: N/A
[A dungeon rat. Vermin.]
Reward: 5 EXP]
Ding!
Attack successful!
Damage = 10 + 2 = 12
Final Damage = 12!
Target Eliminated!
You have gained 5 EXP!
"I should have thought about how realistic killing monsters would be"
Harry shook his head. "I wonder if there is way to tone down the graphics"
Harry sat there wondering if he was in over his head in trying to move around in a place unknown to him, with no one and nothing for help. He contemplated whether to sit around until someone came to find him.
"Pfft…"
He suppressed the mirthless laugh that bubbled up in his throat. "Who am I kidding? There is no one who cares for me. The Dursleys would be screaming in joy if they knew I disappeared forever"
Then the images of his relatives and what they might do to him for something so freakish as this hit him like a ton of bricks, overloading any qualms and wariness.
Induced by the fear, clarity returned to Harry's clouded eyes. Using the same reason to push past his fears, Harry got up and moved forward without looking back, knowing he might falter if he saw the bloody splotch again.
As he moved forward, Harry was more alert than before looking at every shadow and jumping at any slight noise.
His caution proved its worth very quickly as Harry soon found himself facing down five rats, whose beady red eyes, Harry noted, glowed unnaturally at the sight of him.
"Ah hell!," Harry shouted as he made the pre-emptive strike this time.
*Squeak*
"Get off!"
*Squeak*
"Me!"
*Squeak*
"Die!"
Harry could feel the bite marks on his ankles as he smashed one rat after the other and before things could get out of hand, he quickly squashed the last of the rats.
The fact that the rats themselves threw at him without any care for their safety made it a lot easier for him to hit them without fail and trading blow for blow was advantageous for him especially with a bat in hand.
Ding!
Attack successful!
Damage = 10 + 2 = 12
Final Damage = 12!
Target Eliminated!
Ding!
Target Eliminated!
.
.
Ding!
You have gained 25 EXP!
Harry was more glad about having something to smash his foes with than its ability to slightly increase the damage he could dish out.
"Gross"
He grimaced as he saw bits of flesh and splatters of blood coating his bat. "Damn I'm glad it's not in my hands"
Taking a short break after his small killing spree, Harry moved again, wanting to get as far away and as quickly as he could from the bloodied remains of his conquest. This time he came out in an open space, not quite big enough to be called a room but still spacious enough to be distinct from the path Harry had taken up till there.
Looking around, Harry found another pathway leading out to the front and another one adjacent to the one he came out of.
'I guess that's the other path'
Unlike with the fork though Harry didn't get any time to choose or contemplate on his next action as the action came to him.
*SQUREACH*
A loud scratching squeaking noise that felt like a mess of dozens and hundreds of little noises being warped together, came at him from every direction and echoed around the small space pulling him out of his dazy mood.
Looking frantically around, Harry spotted red glowing eyes from both of the unexplored paths, gleaming like a thousand jewels in the dark, moving ever so closer and in a rolling motion, a motion that made Harry feel as if the entire cave was trembling under it. At first, Harry hesitated on what to do and that delay cost him greatly as he was quickly surrounded and attacked from all sides by rats, hundreds and thousands of them.
"Ahhrgh...get off me!"
Harry screamed in anger and frustration as he swung his bat, feet and arms wildly, almost flailing around as that was all he could do at the situation.
The rats though came at him like a maddened beast swarm, that bit, scratched and latched on to whatever part of the big human that they could find. Within moments into the assault, they have toppled the human, almost drowning him under their numbers.
Sheer terror gripped Harry as he desperately clawed, smashed and squirmed from underneath the mass of grey furs, reddsih-pink tails and sticky, grimy flesh. Some of his attacks directly squashed the rats to little bits, with blood, viscera and body fluids coating his entire body as he did so.
The never ending waves of rats continued their frantic assault, filling in any gap Harry's killing made. With more and more joining the fray, Harry's terror reached an ever high. He could feel himself being held underneath the mass of smelly, grimy rats by their sheer number. His vision was soon covered under the numerous paws, fur and tails.
'Not like this. I can't die.. No I can't'
As the last bit of light faded from his eyes, Harry let out a soul piercing cry of sheer helplessness tinged with anger and desperation.
There was a moment, a fraction of a second where everything stood still, at least for Harry it did as he envisioned his death, buried underneath a pile of rats, clawing, digging their way through his skin, flesh and bones. Then everything exploded, a bright bloody and black goo filled the entire area as if washed in paint.
Silence.
The ear-wracking, mind numbing screeches were gone, the various tiny and loud squeaks along with one human's desperate cries of frustration and terror were gone as well.
"Cough...cough"
The silence that followed the loud blast was broken after a few seconds as Harry struggled to lift himself up, coughing up the blood, flesh and other bits that got inside his mouth in his struggle.
Harry felt empty, an emptiness he had never felt before. He couldn't get up as there wasn't even a sliver of strength in him, thus the only option for him was to turn his head to cough out the contents in his mouth and lungs.
Laying there on the blood covered floor, Harry tried to blink his tiredness away. He tried to get up, only to succeed in crawling up to his right side. Then the sight, smell and what happened all hit him together, drowning him in another nauseous sensation, which he couldn't force down this time.
Harry vomited whatever measly bit was inside his stomach, his back aching, his stomach letting out even the gastric acids, filling his mouth and throat with a sickly taste. With trembling limbs, Harry managed to pull his body away from his own vomit before his pale body gave out entirely.
The monotone voice with a feminie touch let out its various announcements that rang around in Harry's ears, like a lullaby for the tired and spent boy.
Ding!
New Skill Created!
[Mana Blast]
Ding!
[Mana Blast]
[The ability to blast your mana in a spherical area centred on you.]
Cost: 100% MP
(MYS + 10) x INT Damage per target
Range: 0.25 x INT Metres
Ding!
Attack successful!
Ding!
Damage = (7 + 10) x 11 = 187
Final Damage = 187!
.
Target Eliminated!
.
.
You have gained 5000 EXP!
Ding!
Congrats!
You have levelled up by 7!
You have gained +70 HP and +70 MP
You have gained 35 free Attribute Points!
Harry didn't know how long he was out of consciousness, his thoughts and dreams swirled around in a hazy white pattern, some good, others bad, none of which he could remember. Then a putrid smell and the stench of blood assaulted him followed by the vision of a giant rat diving straight towards him.
"Gahh!"
Harry screamed as he woke from that nightmare, clawing his hands out trying to fend off an imaginary assailant.
It took several wild flailing and ineligible sounds of screaming for Harry to calm down from his nightmare induced high.
"Huff...huff"
Harry heaved as the reality of what happened and where he was came to him. His green eyes were clouded and dim, like a lamp on its last legs.
Looking at his bloodied hands, Harry found it to be marred by many tiny scratches and bite marks. His worn out clothes seemed all the more torn now, hiding what little it could of the thousands of marks across his torso. Harry felt his skin caked in fleshy bits and dried blood, his hair stuck to his scalp like a second skin, coated in a blacky goo that dribled down his face and neck.
Yet for all of it, Harry only felt a bone chilling numbness as he couldn't grasp on to a single thought or emotion in his mind. To Harry everything felt so far away, even his own body felt like it wasn't his own.
The confusion didn't linger for long as one particular thought came to his mind.
"I'm alive!"
Harry mumbled, his face still set in a shocked stupor. Slowly his eyes moistened, filling up the dried pools and soul, accumulating and finally flowing freely, washing away the gore, making a small trail down his cheeks.
"I'm alive"
Harry repeated more to himself, then he said it again and again, as he clutched himself, wrapping himself in a ball. That one sentence became a chant for him, a chant that turned into a small light in a dark empty, gritty and gory cave.
0o0o0o0
Coming out of the last path, without facing any obstacle, a blood soaked and battered Harry took in what seemed like another open space. This one much larger than the previous trap he fell into and in the far shadows of the room, Harry felt more than he saw a lurker with its beady eyes and greedy paws.
There was a sharpness to Harry's eyes now as he tried to follow the lurking danger. Any hesitation or fear he previously had had left his face leaving only an inexperienced child now, one that was learning quickly and ready to overcome any that came his way.
Any who knew the boy would have been startled by the sudden change in his demeanour, unless they knew and felt for themselves what he had overcome.
Harry for all his childishness and naivety, now held a strong will inside him, a will to live. And it was that will, which propelled him forward as the lurker pounced on him.
There were no screams of fury, frustration or fear, just a calm thought of killing the thing that was attacking him.
*Thwak*
Harry struck with the bat in his hand, which landed squarely on the assailant. The hit was strong enough to throw the creature away. Its large hissing squeak and grey-black furry figure outing it as another rat, albeit much larger.
Harry didn't let the surprise of finding a large rat, big enough in size to reach his torso, to delay his actions as he followed up his first hit by throwing himself on top of the ugly thing.
*Thwak* *Thwak* *Thwak*
*SQUEAHISSK*
The battle between the human and the rat only lasted a minute as Harry unleashed a torrent of attacks, using his free hand to dig deep into the needle-like hair of the rat, ignoring the pain of it digging into his hands and the grime he could feel from its skin, all the while he used the bat to smash it into a pulp.
The large rat lost its momentum the minute Harry got on top of it, the child's weight adding more of a hindrance than his grip he had on it. Ultimately, while it was a large mutated one, it was just one rat and it promptly turned into a bloody mush under Harry's furious assaults.
Ding!
You have attacked a target!
Combat Information gathering . . . . . .
Information Acquired!
[Mutant Rat - Boss of Sewers - Lvl 5
HP: 100/100 [Mutation]
MP: N/A
[The Boss rat also known as Boss of the Sewer. Boss rat was born in a normal stinky rat family but due to its contact with bio waste and chemical X he grew in size and strength.]
Reward: 200 EXP]
Ding!
Attack successful!
Damage = (10 + 2) x20 = 240
Final Damage = 240!
Target Eliminated!
You have gained 200 EXP!
Harry continued to hit the bloody mess underneath him long after hearing the various notifications around him, even after the body of the rat had long since stopped twitching.
*Crack*
With one last smash, that broke the bat in two, Harry stopped his assault. The loss of his weapon brought him out of his one track mind as he carefully stood up from the bloody mush beneath him.
Even after knowing the death of the large rat, Harry continued to scan his surroundings, waiting for any more to come, his teeth clenched in tight fury. With caution, he moved forth from one end to the other, searching for the next foe.
Finding nothing, no rat to kill and no path forward, Harry stood in the middle of the room in a daze. He didn't know what to do and with no further path to move forward, Harry was stuck with no idea of how to get out of this cave-like trap he was in.
*Drip*
*Drip*
*Drip*
Slowly as Harry relaxed his taut nerves, his senses came back to him, following which he heard the dripping sound again. This time louder and nearer to him. His eyes soon found the small pool of water, something that brought a much needed relief for him.
Step by step Harry made his way towards the pool, a small shallow one that only reached up to his thigh at its deepest part. Somehow against all common sense, the pool was clear unlike the dirt, gritty cave that hosted it.
Seeing no enemy inside the pool, he relaxed fully.
*Thuck Thud*
Dropping the broken piece of bat with an audible sigh of relief, Harry moved inside the pool, letting the water slowly wash away the pain, grime and gore he carried. After washing away the blood on his hands, Harry dipped himself completely to wash his head and hair. Harry dipped his head and came up countless times, each time feeling refreshed and cool.
After cleaning himself, Harry dipped again, just to feel the coolness of water, but this time, he kept himself immersed for as long as he could, to immerse in a joy he never had experienced before.
It was during his relaxation that a small glow caught Harry's attention, which he soon found to be a small wooden chest lined with a metal frame. It was laying quietly at the far corner of the pool. Hefting the somewhat heavy chest, Harry pulled it out of the pool.
"A Treasure Chest!"
Finding it to be not locked, Harry opened it with eagerness.
A small glow filled the room as soon as the chest was opened fully, making Harry turn his head away from the almost blinding light.
Ding!
Items Obtained!
[Skill Book (Lightning Bolt)]
[Metal Bat] x 1
[Treasure Map Fragment] x 1
[Lesser Healing Potion] x 1
[Galleon] x 5
When Harry returned his gaze, he found to his surprise that the chest had disappeared and in its place was a softly glowing book with 'Lightning Bolt' labelled on it, a metal bat, a piece of parchment, a glass vial with some kind of red liquid and a small pouch.
"Freaking Cool!"
Harry's attention moved from one item to another, the metal bat being the least interesting to the softly glowing brown book with golden letters being the most eye-catching to him. Deciding to start with the most interesting one, Harry took the book into his hands.
The moment he did so, a new notification appeared before him.
Ding!
You have obtained a skill book!
Do you wish to learn it?
Accept/ Decline
"Do I wish? Absolutely"
Ding!
You have learned a new skill!
[Lightning Bolt]
Ding!
[Lightning Bolt]
[The ability to throw a bolt of lightning towards a target]
(10 + MYS) damage
+1% chance to paralyse the target
Cost: 10 MP
Before he could fully concentrate on what happened, Harry found his attention drawn towards the slowly disappearing book in his hands. The book dispersed itself into motes of light that floated up and disappeared completely despite Harry's continued flailing around to catch it.
The utter disappointment of losing the book was replaced by a relieved sigh as he read the new notifications.
"That's oddly relieving and oddly convenient"
He shook his head. "Guess I can't sell it to earn money"
With the most interesting thing out of the way, Harry pursued the rest of the items, none of which were particularly flashy like the book.
[Surrey Treasure Map]
Parts Completed: 1/2
This Treasure Map is incomplete!
"How did the second piece of the treasure map get here? Weird"
[Lesser Healing Potion (Consumable)]
+20 HP on consumption
"Milk is better than this stuff!"
[Baseball Bat (Metal)]
Damage : STR + 5
Enchantments: None
Requirement: None
Durability: 250/250
Special Effects: None
[A bat…made out of metal]
"Impecabale timing, just when I needed a replacement"
[Galleons x 5]
"Not bad," Harry opened the pouch looking at the five gold coins. "Although, who the hell uses gold coins these days?"
Harry shook his head as he put each of the items in his inventory.
"Now then...how the fuck do I get out of this place?"
Harry yelled in frustration as there was nothing else occupying his mind from the most pertinent question that needed an answer.
Ding!
You have completed the quest [Raterminator]!
Exterminate all the rats in the store room [Complete]!
Special Reward: Clear the Instant Dungeon [Ratacombs] [Complete]!
You have gained: 1050 EXP, 5 Free Attribute Points, 1 Realm Key
"Tha….gaahh"
Before Harry could edge in a single word or make sense of what happened, he felt something hooking on his navel and was then pulled into a twister made up of a cacophony of colours before finally being thrown across a very familiar tiled floor.
"Fucking hell"
Harry cursed as he picked himself up from where he was thrown around. Getting up, Harry found himself back in the storeroom where his gruesome adventure started. Although the entrance to the dungeon was absent along with the eerie feeling he previously had.
"Guess it's gone now"
Ding!
Congrats!
You have levelled up!
You have gained +10 HP and +10 MP
You have gained 5 free Attribute Points!
Ding!
Congrats!
You have reached level 10!
You have gained +100 HP and MP, +1 to all attributes!
Ding!
You have gained more than 10 points in STR!
+2% to physical damage
Ding!
You have gained more than 10 points in DEX!
+2% to accuracy
Taking a brief glance through the level up notifications, Harry closed it away and turned his attention to where he was or rather when he was. Finding out how much time he had spent inside the dungeon was more important to Harry than any level ups he gained.
"I better switch clothes"
Removing the torn ones, he put on ones with long sleeves that could hide as much of the many scars he now carried.
Having no watch in hand and having no clue how to read time using the position of the sun, Harry made a beeline for his class.
Running as fast as he could, he traversed the small yard and into the corridors of the school. During the course of his sprint, Harry saw students still milling about in the corridor, which brought a small modicum of comfort to him.
Within minutes, he reached the outside of his classroom. Catching his breath and wiping away the small droplets of sweat accumulated across his forehead, Harry put on his usual facade, so as to not draw any attention.
Or rather he tried to, but after going through what he had experienced in the dungeon, Harry found himself unable to hide the will to live, to fight for it tooth and nail from his face. After several tries and deciding it as a lost cause, Harry sighed and made his way inside.
For all the unexpected events that happened today, this time, Harry found to his pleasant surprise that he was not late, in fact barely any time had passed since the recess had started.
'I don't know which lucky star I have to thank, but damn that's a relief'
It was then that Harry realised the value of being ignored by everyone as no one, neither his fellow students, teachers nor his relatives gave him more than a cursory glance as usual, thus missing the many scratch and bite marks on his hands and face.
'Being labelled as a hooligan has its perks I see'
Shaking his head, he looked at his hands grimacing a bit as another thought hit him. 'And if I didn't have Gamer's Mind, I am sure I would be screaming like a mad man or staring at a wall like a broken doll after what I went through'
Harry felt an odd sort of reassurance at the powers that he had at his disposal, his gaze falling on the marks that were a leftover of his harrowing adventure even as he went to sleep that day.
Miles Below
Inside a vault made out of black granite, several apparatus were tinkering and clinking. Occasionally, from a set of metal nibs, one would come down from one of the many complicated looking machines to scribble something down on a large sheet of parchment.
The moment Harry returned from the dungeon, a nib scribbled new information in green ink. After it was done, the piece of parchment glowed briefly, erasing what was written.
A Goblin who was looking through various files in his office a couple of floors above the stone vault suddenly stopped as a piece of parchment appeared in thin air and gently floated down on the large desk in front of him.
Gently, the clawed hands of the Goblin grabbed the piece and brought it up for scrutiny. The permanent scowl turned into one of incredulity then into excitement. Jumping out of his chair, uncaring of its fall to the floor, the Goblin got into a quick sprint as he went out of his office and into the floors below.
The ornate wooden door that closed behind the Goblin had a single unadorned name plate.
'Silvertooth, Potter Account Manager'
Far..Far away
A being clouded in dark shades, its form an ever changing mix of wild animals was traversing across the vast boundless cosmos. A centipede leg, a worm's feelers, a rat's head and countless other heads along with numerous beady unblinking eyes and more popped in and out of existence across its uneven body.
The being suddenly stopped as it shuddered, an action that felt otherworldly on its already incomprehensible form.
"Oh… it appears another one of my anchors have been cleared out by adventures"
A slimy, squeaky voice echoed from hundreds of thousands of mouths, all of various shapes and sizes at the same time. "Oh well, it doesn't matter…after all it has served its purpose..hmm...what a wonderful sensation… this snack is indeed the best….I could really get lost in this wonderful sensation"
The shady figure glowed in a dark eerie light before subduing. "Time to find more worlds, need more anchors.. What new experiences shall they bring I wonder. Hahahahaha"
Garbled laughter of sorts filled the area around the shady figure as Ninkilim, Lord Rodent of Wildlife and Vermins, resumed its journey.
Ding!
You have slept in your bed. HP & MP restored to 100%. All negative status effects and ailments have been cured.
For the first time in his life, after waking up to the same message again and again, Harry finally found its meaning as he stared wide eyed at his hands, feet and face in the bathroom mirror.
Gone were every scratch, bite marks and torn flesh, everything looked the same as the day before his dungeon crawl, with only his eyes as proof of what had happened.
His smile turned into a frown as he gently tucked his hair back, making the lightning bolt scar visible.
"If it could do that all this time then why is my scar still there?"
Letting the bangs cover the scar, he continued his morning routine.
"Is it because I got this power after I got this scar? Or is it something my powers can't heal on its own"
Harry sounded out his thoughts as he moved out of the bathroom and on with his day. "Whatever the reason might be, both options most definitely have a story behind it"
Then as if to prove his hypothesis, a new notification popped up for Harry.
Ding!
You have initiated a Chain Quest (C-Class)!
[The Scar-y Story Series]
[The Scar-y Story Series: Story of the Scar]
Quest Synopsis: Find information about how you got the scar
Quest Requirement: None
Quest Rewards: 25 EXP
Special Reward: None
Quest Failure: Being ignorant, untapped potential
Accept / Decline
"A chain quest?"
Harry pondered as he accepted the quest. "Why does this one sound similar to me?"
It wasn't until he reached his school that Harry finally put the pieces together, "Find your roots! Shouldn't this one and that overlap?"
Just as he took another step forward shaking the confusion away, another thought hit him.
"Hold on, I could just do that!"
With a gentle caress of his scar that always mystified him, Harry whispered.
'Inspect'
Ding!
[A Magical Scar - ? - Lvl ?]
HP: ?
MP: ?
[?]
'What the..? Either my INT isn't high enough or something is blocking my skill. And why the hell does a scar have HP and MP? Great another mystery'
Taking his usual place in the class, Harry threw the matter of the scar behind him.
'Nothing I can do about it now'
While enduring the boredom of his class, he mulled over his dungeon experience throughout the rest of the day, berating himself for all the stupid mistakes he had made.
'Why in all that's holy did I not use my [FireBall] skill?'
Inside the sanctuary of the library, he played out his first live dungeon crawl in his mind.
'I should have backed into the narrow tunnel, then slowly whittled down on the horde….why did I even jump into it without a plan in the first place? I need to come up with some defence skills and a way to tone down my impulses'
'If I had a good defence skill then I could have hid behind it and thrown FireBalls at them. Taking breaks to drink some juice or milk to replenisgh my HP and MP,' Harry snapped his fingers. 'That's another thing I have to be wary of, dungeons cutting off my HP and MP regen'
Harry looked at the many rows of aisle filled with books. 'I wonder if there is any book like the skill book I received inside the dungeon in here. I haven't seen any'
"Uh.. it's like a mess in here"
Harry commented as he opened his [Inventory], inside of which, there was fruits like apples, oranges, bananas and then food items like sandwiches, bacon, waffles then bottles of milk and fruit juice along with all the clothes he had bought, his training equipment, two pieces of a treasure map, one lesser healing potion, a metal wire, a pocket knife, a pouch containing five odd golden coins and an inky black key with silver patterns.
Harry's attention was drawn to the treasure map fragments in the inventory. Taking out the two torn pieces, he carefully put them together.
A soft glow flowed between the two pieces as soon as they neared each other and under Harry's amazed gaze, they combined into one single piece.
Ding!
[Surrey Treasure Map]
Parts Completed: 2/2
This Treasure Map is complete!
Ding!
[Surrey Treasure Map]
[The golden rays of twilight shall open the white tooth of the green dragon.]
Along with the cryptic words, there was a crude yet somewhat accurate map on the parchment. The map consisted of a red cross symbol and an arrow that pointed out the direction towards it from where he stood, along with the distance he had to cover to reach the destination.
"2 and a half kilometres… that's doable I think"
Moving towards the many maps stored in the library, he pulled out the smae map of Surrey he had used earlier and compared them both.
"Oh it looks like it is pointing towards the Forest of Surrey. Green dragon…the forest, of course. The white tooth should be the landmark and twilight must mean the time at which I should be around the marked location"
"I was planning to check the forest for any possible dungeon anyway so I can get two birds with one stone"
Putting the treasure map back in his [Inventory], he took out the weird looking key.
"An odd reward for a quest"
He turned the mysterious key in his hand taking in the starry sky pattern imprinted on its glossy surface. It felt cold like metal with a bit of weight to it, but he knew for sure that it wasn't made out of any known metal.
The key had a rectangular shaft with a square bit piece that had two six pointed star patterns engraved on them. The bow was rhombus shaped with a large opening in the middle. Harry could easily fit three of his fingers in the opening.
[Realm Key] (Locked)
Damage : None
Enchantments: None
Requirement: None
Durability: Indestructible
Usages Left: Infinite
Special Effects: Can open a planar path towards any known world recorded in its memory.
+100% safety when travelling across planes
+5 Load capacity
+10 Memory Capacity (4/10)
[Realm Keys are rare items born naturally from fragments of broken planes. They have the ability to create safe passages between worlds and planes of reality.]
[Not to be used for taking your dates for a romantic trip]
"Woah, does that mean the multiverse is real?," then he spluttered as he read the rest of the info. "As if!"
He let out a sigh as soon as he looked through the title. "Why is everything locked?"
Ding!
[Status Locked!]
Harry rolled his eyes as he mentally selected the locked tag.
[Locked]
Time Remaining: 544 Days 23 Hours 12 Minutes 31 seconds
"Oh, that's new"
Gripping the key tightly he let his gaze wander. "Should I even use this? I guess I will decide when it gets unlocked"
Putting it back, Harry pulled out the last item of curiosity he had gained from the dungeon.
Harry played with one of the golden coins in his hand, turning it this way and that way. Giving the coin a bite to check whether it was solid gold or not, but having no experience in such things, Harry didn't find any difference between these ones and the usual 1 pound coins.
"The symbols and words are definitely not used in the UK. Maybe it belonged to an old kingdom, maybe Avalon?"
Looking at the gold coin on his hand, Harry could make out the numeral 1 on the bottom side and the words 'Unum Galleon' on the top part, followed by a picture of a dragon with open wings in the middle portion on one of its faces and while the other had the image of a bearded old man with a pointy hat in the middle and the words 'Gringotts' at the top and 'Bank' at the bottom, along with some number in between the two words.
Finding nothing else of note, Harry used [Inspect] on the coin.
Galleon - Currency - Lvl N/A
Enchantments: +100% protection against melting, duplication and other such charms
[A galleon is the highest currency used in the wizarding world, followed by a Sickle and a Knut. It is issued and regulated by Gringotts Bank run by Goblins. It is made of pure Gold.]
[Goblins and their love for gold, they might part with their first born than a coin of Gold]
"Yeah, yeah... where was this sarcasm when I was trapped in the dungeon?," Harry drawled but shook his head. "Priorities"
"Another clue to the Wizarding world and looks like they have their own currency as well. With what I learned from the info on Mrs. Figg, it is abundantly clear that I am a wizard and was born there. Then what remains are, where is the wizarding world? How do I get there? What happened to my parents and why am I considered a Hero over there?"
Harry ticked off each of his fingers as he laid out the most pressing questions one by one, "And most importantly, how does it relate to the gamer powers I possess?"
"The fact that people consider magic as mere fantasy means this wizarding world is well hidden and only magical people know where it is," Harry frowned as he palyed with teh coin. "Then again I haven't seen Mrs. Figg using magic. She does have 15 MP though unlike others who doesn't even have 1..."
"Gah, I am getting side tracked," he shook his head. "Again"
Letting out a sigh he moved back to his previous line of thought.
"The fact that old lady Mrs. Figg has interaction with people from this wizarding world means it must be close by or at the least in the UK. All I need is to come up with a plan to follow Mrs. Figg and find the entrance to this so-called wizarding world."
Putting the Galleon back in his [Inventory], he turned to come up with plans to follow Mrs. Figg.
Ding!
You have slept in your bed. HP & MP restored to 100%. All negative status effects and ailments have been cured.
Harry woke up with a smile as today was Christmas and his relatives usually kicked him out of the house for enjoying their family time, so he was fairly sure that he could spend his Christmas, training and if possible spying on Mrs. Figg.
"Get out and don't come back until evening"
Vernon Dursley shut the door on his nephew as he gave out his order.
"Why thank you dear uncle"
Harry muttered as he pulled out his training weights from his [Inventory], putting them on before jogging towards his training ground, the park.
Having spent his day productively on getting in some good exercise and experimenting with his new skill [Lightning Bolt], he was on his way back to spy on Mrs. Figg when something blew past him.
*BOOM*
*SCREECH*
Harry was startled out of his skin by the sudden booming sound that rattled his eardrums, the ear-piercing screech that followed it didn't reduce the effect at all as it rather made Harry dizzy at the sudden sensory inputs.
Shaking off his dizziness quickly, Harry looked around only to find a triple decker bus parked near the walkway. The bus was painted in a garish purple colour that made Harry's eyes water a bit.
Being the curious boy that he was, Harry used [Sneak] to get close to it. Just as he crossed the road, Harry was only able to catch the sight of Mrs. Figg, getting on the bus before another 'Boom' blasted out, making Harry squint at the sudden wind that bellowed on to him. With barely opened eyes, Harry watched in amazement as the bus defied the laws of physics to move about and disappear from his sight entirely.
Blinking his eyes to see if he had been mistaken, Harry made sure that he did indeed see a bus cater wheel and jump over a lamp post before disappearing into the darkening skyline.
'This is it. This is my ticket to the wizarding world. Only magic could explain what I just saw. Now all I need, is to find the schedule of the bus. Then see if I can hear the destination if Mrs. Figg says it before entering or looking at the bus's notice board.'
Harry was excited as he finally got a thread to follow in his chain quest.
'And here I thought it would be another Christmas without any gift'
He clenched his fist as a smile made its way into his face. 'Finally, I can learn the truth'
January
Harry made a habit of always keeping a look out for the purple bus as he could see Mrs. Figg's house from the backyard of his house. Days went by and Harry didn't find any glimpse of the magical bus.
"Brrrr"
Harry shivered a bit in the early morning wind. "Waking up to sneak behind the Dursleys is tiresome enough without the cold wind"
He sped up a bit to warm himself as he went about on his usual morning jog.
*BOOM*
"Fuck"
He covered his ears as a streak of purple blew past him.
"Damn it, I missed it again"
He looked on morosely, trying to catch any glimpse of the magical bus. "What the hell is Mrs. Figg up to so early?"
Shaking his head, he continued his jog. "So far I have never spotted the bus during the time I last saw it. There doesn't seem to be a schedule. I really hope it isn't a magical call service"
February
Winter was slowly losing its grip on the world around him as Harry patiently tried to catch the purple magical bus. His plan was to use [Inspect] on the bus as soon as he got close enough to touch it at least once if his other plan to overhear Mrs. Figg's destination didn't pan out.
Days rolled by, as half of February was over, Harry was once again teased by the purple double decker as it bellowed past him when he was on his jog back to his house from school.
"Damn it"
Harry cussed. The bus was too fast for him to do an [Inspect], without being hit and run over by it.
"It seems, my only choice is when Mrs. Figg boards the bus"
March
"Oh shit, don't move. Don't move"
Harry chanted as he saw the bus in front of Mrs. Figg's house as she boarded the bus. Harry was just returning from his training session in the park. Harry ran after it with all his might.
*BOOM*
"Fuck"
Shaking his frustration away, he latched on to the productive side.
"At least now I am pretty sure that all Mrs. Figg do to call the bus is to stretch your hand beside the road"
April
"Don't. Fucking. Move"
Harry desperately cursed under his breath as he drew near, only for the bus to disappear with a 'Boom'.
"Ahrgh…..."
Harry screamed in frustration.
May
"Where the fuck did that bus go?"
Harry cursed as the last day of May tumbled away without giving him even a single glimpse of the bus.
June
With summer vacation soon approaching, Harry cooked up a very simple plan. He will discard his training until he could catch that bus, and use that free time to keep watch on Mrs. Figg's house both during the morning and during the evening where his relatives' were unaware and unmindful of his little outings.
'Besides after my STR shot up by 2, along with DEX and END by 1, I haven't gained anything. Might as well do a complete stakeout'
June 15 arrived and with it, Harry started his operation. He got up very early in the morning and stayed put hiding behind the bushes until it was time for his relatives to wake up and he did another round of stalking in the evening, this time by acting as if he was doing some work in the backyard from where he could see Mrs. Figg's house, and was within possible running distance away.
June 30
*BOOM*
"Shit, it's here", Harry dropped the pot of plants that his uncle asked him to plant and gave chase without a care.
Harry jumped over the shrubs planted by him on his relatives' yard easily, going full sprint, he crossed over the John's house yard, which was right next to his house and taking off in a diving jump over the tall wooden fence, coming down on a roll to reduce the impact of the fall, he quickly got up and charged.
He was already on Mrs. Figg's yard, just as he drew near, Harry yelled out in frustration and desire, "Don't Fucking Mov…"
*Thud*
His words were cut off as he face planted on the ground mid run. As he groaned from where he laid, a loud 'Boom' announced the departure of his target.
Looking back at the pipe that snaked around his leg, Harry raised a clenched fist and smashed it on the ground.
"Damn it"
July 23
The garish purple coloured double decker bus once again arrived with a bang, seemingly as if warping space and time itself in its voyage of ferrying its mystical passengers across the land, water and maybe even air.
It announced its arrival with its usual boom and screeched to a stop at the side way, where the outstretched hand of a person was patiently waiting.
The door opened with a hiss and the conductor Stan Shunpike, with his large protruding ears and pimple filled face, adorned in his purple uniform that matched the bus, once again started to read out his spiel.
"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. My name is Stan Shunpike and I will be your conductor this evening."
After finishing off the lines with a flourish, Stan glanced at his passenger for the day, and it was a boy, 'maybe a teen', he thought, standing there on the walkway as if he had all the time in the world.
The boy wore a black hoodie and light blue jeans and had a black hat that partially covered his face, that gave only a glimpse of the boy's smirk. The smirk seemed forced as it almost looked like the boy was just bursting to break out in a grin. The boy slightly raised his head, a pair of piercing green eyes met brown lazy eyes and the smirking lips gave way to utter a single destination.
"Diagon Alley"
AN
Thanks for reading and giving reviews.
Next Chapter: Discoveries
See you all next month.