Welcome back everyone to chapter 4! But before we start here are some reviews responses!
Saitamathewise- Thanks, I do plan on making a huge impact soon, something that will let our favorite humans have their own little adventures when the bots have theirs.
Or-lan-do626- I wouldn't say crazy, a thrill seeker and reckless sure but not crazy. But no worries Miko will have some pretty good buffs.
Kit: Thank you I am trying to take my time with this, plus I hit the wall on how to get the story going. As for spelling mistakes, I'll go over a couple of them, but some are and will be intentional to get an accent for some characters.
Leaf Ranger- Yes, a very strong bond. Hehe. As for the energy it won't be a problem for too much longer.
Jasper High School
It was Friday afternoon and Jack was getting ready for today. School was over and he was going to the mines. He didn't know what he will find but he had a feeling it would be a dungeon. Not that he was against it, ever since Monday he has been pushing himself to increase his stats as much as he could. And due to a few quests and the school bonus the results were great.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Race: Human]
[Title: The Gamer]
[LVL: 7 (1048/1141)]
[HP: 268/268]
[MP: 289/289]
[SP: 268/268]
[CON: 24]
[STR: 23]
[DEX: 27(+5)]
[INT: 27]
[WIS: 17]
[LCK: 8]
[AP: 15]
[$430]
The downside he couldn't find time to practice his spells. Despite trying his best, the only places, he could find had people there or nearby. Not good for keeping things a secret. But one thing to note was he did get a somewhat new skill. Somewhat because it was cooking.
[Cooking LVL 8 (199/214)]
[You can cook tasty meals that will bring a smile to someone's face.]
[15% chance to burn the food]
[Consumers feel good for an hour]
[All food bonuses last 50% longer]
Turns out despite what both he and his mom thought cooking at the K.O. Burger did count. Who knew? The point was he felt ready. With that said he started pedaling towards the mine, he already stashed his tent and supplies in his inventory so all he had to do was get there.
Omega One
The Autobots were doing their normal routines as Ratchet kept looking over data.
"Optimus come and come here for moment." Getting the prime to come over.
"Take a look at the seismic scan Arcee and Cliffjumper took compared to the city plans we acquired."
The prime look at the screen. The one from the city planning looked like a standard sewer layout, but the one from the seismic scan was different. It was larger than it should have been and more importantly it didn't match with the city records.
"This is strange, Fowler himself got the plans once we informed him. It is unlikely he got us the wrong ones." That was a day for the agent. At first, he thought they were playing a joke on him until they told him about the strange energy readings emitting from the town. While he hopes they were just glitches he, like the bots, weren't going to take the chance.
"So, either we got a bad scan or something really strange is going on." The two turn to see Cliffjumper and the rest walking up to them.
"It would appear so. Until we know what is going on all missions on patrols will be done in pairs." Optimus ordered to the shock of the others.
"Optimus with all due respect isn't that a little paranoid?" Bulkhead asked.
"Perhaps but until we get some answers it is best to be cautious. In the meantime, Arcee and Bumblebee, the two of you will patrol Jasper and keep watch for any unusual activity."
"Yes sir." The two nodded.
Black Canyon Ridge Mines
Jack finally arrived at the mine. It took him an hour and a half to pedal here but he did it.
[Cycling] [LVL: 5(121/125)]
[You can ride a bike with a max speed of 35 mph.]
[+3 CON]
[+3 STR]
[+4 DEX]
Right now, Jack couldn't answer if it was worth the sore legs. Looking around he could see the entrance to the mine and around it was a couple of rundown buildings, probably storage, business buildings and what looked to be a communal house. Walking up to the entrance sure enough was a dungeon.
[Dungeon: Miner's Folly]
[Recommended Levels: 8-11]
[Enter Y/N]
Pressing no for now Jack went to setup his campsite. He was going to make sure it was a good distance away and hidden just in case someone shows up. He could sleep in the communal house but due to how old it was, and because the system may cause an encounter if he tried, it probably wasn't a safe place to sleep.
[For well reasoning]
[+1 WIS]
Shaking his head Jack found a good place for his tent. It was between two large boulders that were next to the road. Even if someone drove by, they wouldn't be able to see him or his tent. It was after starting a fire a new skill popped up.
[New Skill: Bushcraft LVL 1(20/100]
[To survive in the wild with little to no supplies people spent centuries perfecting this art.]
[+5% in foraging for food]
[+5% in starting fires]
[+5% in trap effectiveness]
[+5% in water gathering]
[+5% in shelter effectiveness]
Well, that would be useful. Honestly maybe when he gets a chance, he'll go camping with his mother. It would be nice to spend time with her just having fun. Pulling out some food from his inventory He pulled up his stats.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Race: Human]
[Title: The Gamer]
[LVL: 7 (1048/1141)]
[HP: 289/289]
[MP: 289/289]
[SP: 289/289]
[CON: 27]
[STR: 26]
[DEX: 31(+5)]
[INT: 27]
[WIS: 18]
[LCK: 8]
[AP: 15]
[$430]
Not bad. Not bad at all, most of his skills are nearing thirty with the exception of wisdom and luck. Turns out just because you read a lot doesn't mean your wise, and really, he had no way to raise his luck like the others. He could dump all his points into luck, he would get better loot drops but that seemed reckless. If [Miner's Folly] was anything like [Rat's Nest] then he would need to be smarter than that. After some debating Jack when with putting three points into constitution and split the rest evenly between luck and wisdom. His stats now were.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Race: Human]
[Title: The Gamer]
[LVL: 7 (1048/1141)]
[HP: 310/310]
[MP: 289/289]
[SP: 310/310]
[CON: 30]
[STR: 26]
[DEX: 31(+5)]
[INT: 27]
[WIS: 24]
[LCK: 14]
[AP: 0]
[$430]
That should help; besides he was going to level up soon so it's not like he won't get more AP any time soon. With this and his skills he should be better prepared than the last time he entered a dungeon. Wait. Skills.
"I completely forgot!" Opening his inventory, he grabbed the skill book he got from beating Vince in that race and held it out in front of him.
[Would like to learn the War Cry skill?]
[Y/N]
A quick press yes Jack saw what the skill can do.
[War Cry LVL 1 (0/100)]
[Unleash a roar of blood lust enhancing you for every enemy nearby.]
[+ 2 to CON, STR, and DEX for every enemy in 10 feet, bonus wear off once combat ends]
[2% chance to stun enemies]
[1% chance to cause fear in enemies]
[Will leave user exhausted for several minutes base on stat increase. Example +2 Stats = 2 Minutes]
[Cost: 25 SP]
What was it with him getting things that would head helped him in dealing with those dammed rats! It doesn't matter, if he gets surrounded again like last time this will give him a boost he will definitely need. Jack merely ate his food and called his mother as part of their agreement. After that he would head to bed. He'll need all his energy for tomorrow.
The next day
[You have slept in your sleeping bag. HP, MP, and SP restored 75%. All ailments cured.]
"Well, that's different." Jack grumbled. Getting up he crawled out and stretched, taking a few steps outside his little cover. Seeing no one was in sight, Jack equipped his leather bracers and steel cuirass as well as his axe. Before entering the dungeon, Jack looked through the buildings. There wasn't much in them, mostly old and rotten furniture and broken mining equipment. He did however find fifty dollars and a note.
Steven,
Look I know we need the money, but I don't trust that fat bastard Pete. That man is a slimeball and I think he had something to do with his brother's death. You saw it too haven't you. The greedy look in the ass' eyes. I know Ben wasn't the best guy to work for, but he always made sure the mine was safe, Pete though, I'm pretty sure he'll blow up the mountain with us underneath it if it meant filling his pockets. I say we get out while we still have our skins.
James
Seeing nothing else was there, Jack finally decided to get this show on the road.
[Dungeon: Miner's Folly]
[Recommended Levels: 8-11]
[Enter Y/N]
Hitting yes as he entered the dungeon, he found it to be a fairly standard mine for the fifties, carved from stone with wooden support beams holding up the ceiling and old lanterns and lights that haven't been in use in over a half century. Thankfully his [Ring of the Rat] gave him night vision or else he would be in trouble here. It was only a couple of minutes before Jack encountered his first opponent.
[Giant Bat]
[Race: Bat]
[LVL: 8]
[Title: Dark Flyer]
[HP: 75/75]
[MP: 25/25]
[SP: 75/75]
[Con: 15]
[STR: 15]
[DEX: 25]
[INT: 4]
[WIS: 18]
[LCK: 2]
[What once was a harmless bat has become a mad beast due to exposure to ?]
[Perks]
[Echolocation: by using sound you can map out an area and navigate it without sight]
Ravenous: Creatures with this perk are always hungry and will attack anything that moves to satisfy its hunger.]
There were three of them. Each bat was about the size of a terrier for its body and a wingspan of three feet. Its dark brown fur would have made it impossible for Jack to see it if he didn't have the [Night Vision] perk now. Spotting Jack they swooped down at him, acting quickly Jack ducked and rolled to the side. Getting up he fired [Frost Darts] at them. Four of the dart nailed one in the wing causing it to crash while the other two tried flying down to bite him. Dodging one he swung his axe striking the other dead center. Turning back to the second he shot out [Frost Darts] again taking it out. Turning back to the one he grounded earlier Jack did feel a little guilty. While he knew whatever that crystal was, the bat never wanted this, but it was too late for it now. Heck even with most of it wing gone it was still trying to crawl and bite him. Shaking his head Jack shot out [Frost Darts] once more putting the mutated beast out of its misery.
[You slain 3 Giant Bats]
[+150XP]
[You leveled up!]
[+5 AP]
[Challenge unlocked: Ice man cometh 1]
[Kill enemies with ice magic]
[5/25]
[Rewards]
[One ice spell]
[300XP]
That was unexpected, moving on Jack continued until he came across a large room. It looked to be a staging area to allow better access to more of the mountain. There were tables to one side of the chamber probably for sorting and some scaffolding around the only tunnel.
What really caught Jack's attention was the eight [Giant Bats] hanging from the ceiling. They haven't seen him yet so that was a relief. Noticing that they were grouped close together he decided to try out [Frost Bomb] on a real target. The small snowball flew through the air, the bats saw the spell and tried to fly away but it was far too late. In an explosion of ice seven of the bats were taken out with the last one falling to the ground with a harsh thud.
Thinking he was in the clear Jack jumped down only to hear a harsh screech pierce through the air. Out of the tunnel came a white bat that dwarfed the others. It was easily the same size as him with a wingspan of ten feet.
[Dailes Dombre]
[Race: Monster Bat]
[LVL: 8]
[Title: Dark Flyer]
[HP: 375/375]
[MP: 125/215]
[SP: 375/375]
[Con: 30]
[STR: 30]
[DEX: 50]
[INT: 8]
[WIS: 36]
[LCK: 4]
[Back when the mines were active, the miners told stories of a wing monster that hunts at night. They called it Dailes Dombre or of shadow wings. While many thought these tales were fiction some discovered they were true, and fewer lived to tell the tale.]
[Perks]
[Echolocation: by using sound you can map out an area and navigate it without sight]
Ravenous: Creatures with this perk are always hungry and will attack anything that moves to satisfy its hunger.]
[Rare Spawn bonus: + 50 to HP, MP, and SP]
Seeing it Jack quickly sent [Frost Darts] at the beast only for it to dodge to the side and let out a sonic screech. It came out as a beam of circles carving through the rock like a hot knife through butter. Seeing the death beam coming towards him Jack started running, firing [Frost Darts] again in hopes of taking the beast down. Luckily, they struck the beast forcing the bat to stop its attack. Seeing this Jack use [Frost Darts] again only for the bat to avoid them again.
"Fine then if batty can dodge some darts let's see if it can dodge a bomb." Quickly he sent out three [Frost Bombs] at Dailes, while they were costly, he was hoping the range of the blast will hit. His plan worked. Dailes was able to dodge the bombs themselves but the blast made by the explosions manage to land a hit forcing it to crash land.
[Dailes Dombre]
[HP: 165/375]
The bat monster had ice encasing its wings keeping it from flying again but it was not going to stay down. Propping itself up the beast let out another sonic screech. Unfortunately, Jack wasn't able to get away in time causing him to get hit with the edge of the beam.
[-70HP]
The attack sent him flying across the ground. Groaning in pain Jack got up glaring at the beast. He sent out a [Frost Bomb] at Dailes, the giant bat tried to get away, but its ice-covered wings hindered its movement causing it to get hit. Jack wasn't idle though as he ran the towards the massive bat right after he cast the spell. Once up close he brought his axe down ending the fight.
[You slain 8 Giant bats]
[+ 400XP]
[You slain Dailes Dombre]
[+ 500XP]
[+ $500]
[Mantle of Night was been added to you inventory]
Raising an eyebrow at that he looked in his inventory and pull out his new item. It was a white fur mantle that would cover his shoulders and up to the small of his back, at the neckline there was a leather hood attached.
[Mantle of Night]
[Grade: Rare]
[Durability: 500/500]
[A fur mantle made from Dailes Dombre. When wearing this you gain increase bonuses at night and dark places. While hood is up your face will be mask in shadows with your eyes glowing beneath.]
[+10 STR and DEX at night and dark areas]
That was useful, Jack wasn't a fool, he knew he may be seen sooner or later so this will help as well and the stats boost was a nice bonus. Putting it on Jack explored the room after casting [Healing Vail]. There wasn't much round thirty dollars, a letter, and six sticks of dynamite.
[Dynamite]
[Rare quality]
[One time use item]
[Radios 10 feet]
[1000 Damage]
[An explosive device that can move earth and rubble]
Yeah, he threw those in his inventory, and he was not going to use them in here. He was pushing it enough with the [Frost Bombs] he did not want to cause a cave in. Taking a look at the letter it read.
James,
Are you out of your mind?! You can't go around accusing folks like that. Look I know Pete is a louse and what happen to Ben was bad, but he was drunk. I was one of the ones who found him. The poor bastard reek of booze and there was a broken bottle of hootch next to him. I know Pete isn't the best to work for but hold out for one more month. Just one I swear then we'll leave. I heard from a friend of a friend that the railroads will need some new blood soon. Just deal with Pete until then alright?
Steven
Quite why they felt the need to write this down escaped Jack but whatever. Moving to the next tunnel Jack kept an eye out for bats, he kept going until he found a wall of rubble.
'Looks like I found where the mine collapse, but how am I going to continue." He thought to himself. But then he heard something. It sounded like a sharp banging sound. It was soft at first but slowly getting louder. 'What is that? It kinda sounds like metal hitting rock."
Then some of the rubble started to shift and move. Jumping back Jack saw some of the rock gave way to a passage, but it was what was standing at the entrance that really caught his attention.
It was a skeleton, an honest to god skeleton. It was dressed in a ragged mining jumpsuit and helmet. In its hands was a pickaxe that it had in life. From its eye sockets an eerie purple light glowed.
[Skeleton Miner]
[Race: Skeleton (Undead)]
[Title: Unlucky Few]
[LVL: 10]
[HP: 150/150]
[MP: 0/0]
[SP: ∞/∞]
[CON: 20]
[STR: 25]
[DEX: 20]
[INT: 3]
[WIS: 3]
[LCK: 0]
[A skeleton of a miner who was lost in the collapse. Their bones have been reanimated by a dark power. Its only desire is to snuff out all life.]
[Night vison: Creatures with this perk can see well no matter how dark it is. (Note does not help if vison is obscured by dust, fog, snow, etc.)]
[Unnatural Stamina: Never tire and never stop, creatures with this perk have infinite stamina.]
[?:?]
"This was one of the miners from the collapse! And it seems like it's not going to let me pass. Terrific." Jack thought to himself. The skeleton saw him and let out an unearthly hiss as it rushed towards him.Acting quickly Jack moved out of the way dodging the blow from the pickaxe, he then struck back with his weapon.
[Weakness found!]
[Brittle Bones: Sticks and stone will break your bones! 50% more damage from blunt weapons, 50% less damage from edge weapons.]
[Skeleton Miner]
[HP: 6/150]
Jack's jaw nearly fell off when he saw that. Yes, he knew he can pack a punch, but that weakness just made it almost too easy. With another swing he ended the skeleton with a hard blow.
[You slain a Skeleton miner]
[+ 100XP]
[1 old pickaxe]
[7 gemstones]
Huh, that was pretty good for a single mob, probably due to him increasing his luck. Shrugging his shoulders Jack moved on through the passage way. From the looks of things, the skeleton was mining nonstop, but it took nearly fifty years for it to break through all that rubble. Whether it was poor timing on his part or the system affecting things Jack didn't know. After a few more minutes of walking, he found himself in another chamber. This one though seemed more like a natural cave or air pocket. There was still mining equipment laying around, some looked to be broken from overuse. Along the walls were skeletons on the ground pickaxes in hand, the miners who desperately tried to save themselves. Seeing none of them moving Jack began to look around. He found another letter.
Just one more month. If I knew this would happened, I would have told Steven to fuck off. Not even a week later the mine collapsed. How? That's simple. That fat bastard caused it. We found something unnatural while mining. Some sort of glowing crystal in the wall, no one wanted to touch it. No one but Pete. We tried to stop him, but he threatened to fire all of us. The moment he hit the damn thing it exploded in some sort of purple light causing the cave in. When I came to, the fat bastard was gone. I thought he died when the collapse happened, but the others said he when deeper in the mines. Good. Let the fat sack of shit die down here. The only problem is we may join him. We're running low on water and air. Some of us already died from their injuries. If anyone is reading this, please do me one last favor. I have a locket that my family kept for generations, please bring it to my sister or her kids depending how many years passed and give it to them. Rosie if you're reading this. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you and your big brother loves you.
With his last words
James Talson
Underneath the letter was the locket in question, picking it up Jack added it to his inventory. He has a name, maybe he can find the descendants.
[Quest unlocked: Memories of a Miner]
[You found the locket of one James Talson, who tragically died from the mine collapse. Find his family and return it to them.]
[Rewards]
[500XP]
[Miner's Resolve Perk]
[Y/N]
To me honest Jack didn't even need a reward since he was going to do so anyway. But he won't turn in down. Then suddenly a stream of purple lights entered the cavern from one of the tunnels braking into dozens of lights before they went to each of the skeletons on the ground. Soon each one of them began to rise up. In less than a minute there were twenty-five skeletons surrounding Jack as they rushed him. Jack tried to get away but there were too many of them. In no time they managed to get a few hits on him.
[- 25 HP!]
[- 30 HP!]
[- 20 HP!]
[Jack Darby]
[HP: 265/340]
There were just too many of them. Even if he could two shot them the sheer number of them would get him before he could stop them. 'If I was faster or stronger maybe I'd have a chance. Wait that's it!' Taking a deep breath Jack let out a roar as he activated [War Cry].
[War cry used! 25 enemies in range. + 50 to CON, STR, and DEX.]
Jack felt a wave of energy surge through him. It was if he had drunk a hundred expressos while being charged with electricity. With a swing he struck three of the skeletons taking them down in an instant. Two tried to hit him but he was too fast, he swung around and destroyed them. Jumping back Jack sent three [Frost bombs] out hitting most of the remaining undead. Only six remain, all were wounded. Jack descended upon them like a falcon to its prey making short work of them.
[All enemies defeated. War Cry bonuses removed]
[Exhaustion status inflicted for 50 minutes]
Jack dropped to his knees gasping for breath. That was intense. He felt like he just ran a triathlon with fifty-pound weights on his limbs. Taking a moment to breathe Jack look over the notifications he got.
[You slain 25 Skeleton Miners]
[+ 2500XP!]
[25 old pickaxes]
[147 Gemstones]
[You leveled Up!]
[+ 5 AP]
[You leveled up!]
[+ 5AP!]
Challenge complete: Ice man cometh 1]
[Kill enemies with ice magic]
[27/25]
[Rewards]
[Ice wall spell tome added to your inventory]
[300XP]
Challenge unlocked: Ice man cometh 2]
[Kill enemies with ice magic]
[2/50]
[Rewards]
[Cryomancer perk]
[600XP]
[For constantly sending strong blows + 2 STR]
[War Cry Leveled up]
[War Cry LVL 2 (12/110)]
[Unleash a roar of blood lust enhancing you for every enemy nearby.]
[+ 4 to CON, STR, and DEX for every enemy in 10 feet, bonus wear off once combat ends]
[4% chance to stun enemies]
[2% chance to cause fear in enemies]
[Cost: 25 SP]
[Frost Bomb Leveled up!]
[Frost Bomb LVL 4 (25/133)]
[Send out a ball of ice that explodes on impact.]
[Cost: 45 MP]
[125 Damage]
[Radius: 8 feet]
[15% chance to freeze targets]
[Blunt Mastery leveled up!]
[Blunt Mastery Level 5 121/160]
[Passively increase all blunt weapon damage by 12%]
[Passively increase chances to break bones by 3%]
[Passively increase critical hit chances by 2%]
[Instant dungeon creation Unlocked]
[Instant dungeon creation LVL 1 (0/500)]
[Allows users to travel into pocket dimensions of various dungeons]
[Available Dungeons]
[Empty Dungeon]
[Rat's Nest]
[Cost: 5 MP]
[Instant dungeon escape LVL 1 (0/500)]
[You can leave the IDC]
[Cost: 5 MP]
Well, that's a surprise. He didn't expect to level up twice. And the dungeon creation was interesting, but he would have to look at that later, for now he needed to finish this dungeon. Getting up Jack took a deep breath. [War cry] was a huge rush but at least he understood how it works now. The more enemies the more useful. If it was only one or two skeletons Jack doubt that he would have noticed a difference, but all twenty-five? It was something. But the draw back was just as bad. It will be used for only major emergencies.
After waiting for the timer to run out Jack looked at the tunnel where all the lights came from. He was willing to bet cold hard cash that's where he had to go next. Walking down there was another chamber but unlike the last one this chamber was carved from stone. There were three tunnels leading from it.
Taking a look around Jack saw no clues or enemies around. It seems like he was going to have to explore the tunnels.
Omega One
Working at the monitors Ratchet turn to see a notification. Optics widening, he quickly turned to the others.
"Everyone! I'm picking up another one of those energy readings!" The others quickly came over. Ever since the first one popped up; they began to get on edge.
"Where is it Ratchet?" Optimus asked.
"Several miles from Jasper, an abandon mining facility, not used in decades."
"Well, that tares it then. It has to be the cons. I bet ten energon cubes that they're searching for energon." Bulkhead said. It made sense to him, the Decepticons were trying some sort of new ground bridge tech and that was why the signals were popping up.
"If that was true Bulkhead then why did they arrive in town. And more importantly how was it no human reported a swirling vortex with vehicles or cybertornians coming out of it?" Ratchet countered.
"Regardless these signals are far too close to our base. It doesn't matter if they're cons or something else, we should find out before it becomes a threat." Arcee spoke up. Optimus nodded his head as he gave his orders.
"Bulkhead, Cliffjumper. You two will come with me to investigate. As for the rest of you, remain at base. If something happens, we may need immediate rescue. Autobots. Transform and roll out.
Miner's Folly
Jack let out a groan as he exits the first tunnel. There was next to nothing but two skeletons inside it. He was walking down the second tunnel keeping an eye out for any more mobs. Eventually he found himself looking in another cavern. This one seemed smaller than the others, but he saw a chest at the far end. Between him and it was ten more skeletons and a new creature.
[Zombie Miner]
[Race: Zombie (Undead)]
[Title: Unlucky Few]
[LVL: 11]
[HP: 200/200]
[MP: 0/0]
[SP: 100/100]
[CON: 30]
[STR: 30 (+50)]
[DEX: 5]
[INT: 1]
[WIS: 1]
[LCK: 0]
[Low on food, some miners resorted to desperate measures. Now as a walking corpse, the lack of air and cold environment kept its flesh from rotting away.]
[Night vison: Creatures with this perk can see well no matter how dark it is. (Note does not help if vison is obscured by dust, fog, snow, etc.)]
[Unnatural Strength: No longer bound by pain the muscles are free to go all out even if it harms the user. +50 STR, take 10% of all damage you deal.]
[Cannibal: Eat the flesh of the fallen to heal yourself for 25% of your max HP.]
And there were three of them walking around. What's worst they're zombies. Jack always hated zombies for some reason, but he could never figure out why. Maybe from some old nightmare he doesn't remember.
Shaking his head Jack looked around the chamber. From the looks of things, they haven't spotted him yet, but he knows the moment he attacks they will charge him. [War Cry] would help here but he doesn't want to get too close to the zombies. Boost in health or not they were just way too strong to get close to. That left one option, attack from range and whittle them down. Waiting for two of the zombies to be close together Jack sent two [Frost Bombs] out striking them. The combined force of the two took out three of the skeletons and two of the zombies. This sadly did reveal Jack. Seeing him the undead charged at him. The first was the skeletons. Ducking beneath a swing Jack brought his own to bare and struck it down. He kept doing this with four more skeletons leaving two left with the zombie. Speaking of which the undead miner finally made it to Jack, who was glad this was the slow shambling zombie type not the hyper running one and took a swing. Jack knowing that how strong this undead is moved out of the way. When the zombie's' pickaxe struck the ground, it left a small crater, which made Jack very glad he dodged it. Even if his body may not end up with potholes that would have took a lot of health. Jumping up Jack did a quick slash and fired [Frost Darts] point blank. Frozen ice spikes were jutting out of the corpse's chest yet the undead show no effect. It swung its pickaxe and struck Jack in the chest knocking him away several feet.
[- 100Hp]
Jack's eyes widen at that. A hundred HP in just one hit. 'That was the most I taken, even [Plague Spreader] didn't hit that hard and it had a bonus.' His troubles weren't over as the remaining skeletons brought their axes down hitting him hard.
[- 35HP]
[- 40HP]
That was not a pleasant feeling. Seeing them about to strike again Jack rolled out of the way and struck one of the skeletons down. The last remaining skeleton tried to hit him, but Jack kicked it in the leg causing the undead to fall. Jack brought his axe down ending the skeleton. All that was left was the zombie that was shuffling towards him. With a quick blast of [Frost Darts] Jack ended the fight.
[You slain 10 Skeleton Miners]
[+ 1000XP!]
[10 old pickaxes]
[70 gemstones]
[You slain 3 Zombie miners]
[+ 600XP!]
[3 old pickaxes]
[60 gemstones]
[You leveled up!]
[+ 5AP]
Well, it was over, but the level up was nice to have. Moving to the chest Jack opened it for find a pair of metal shin guards.
[Mercenary shin guards]
[Common quality]
[Durability: 150/150]
[+ 10 Defense]
[A pair of metal shin guards often worn by mercenaries.]
Still a nice improvement. Looking around there wasn't anything to note so he made his way to the last tunnel. A few minutes of walking Jack finally made it to another chamber. Although after seeing this, he wished he hadn't. Skeletons, so many skeletons. There had to be at least thirty of them. They were all lying on the ground motionless. It looked as if their last moments were nothing but pain and suffering. And standing there in the middle of all of them was what looked to be another zombie.
But it wasn't like the others. It wore think black boot caked with dirt. A pair of worn and ripped overalls that looked to be pushed to it's breaking point by its large gut. A dirty red long sleeve flannel. Topped with a mining helmet that was long since broken. It turned to Jack to reveal a bright red bushy beard and glowing purple eyes. If that wasn't enough it spoke. It spoke in a voice as thick as mud and laced with greed.
"You! Who are you!? This is my mine! My treasure! If you think you're taking anything you're not going to leave here alive!"
[Boss Encounter!]
[Old Pete]
[Race: Zombie (Undead)]
[LVL: 13]
[Title: Greed unending]
[HP: 550/550]
[MP: 250/250]
[SP: 550/550]
[Con: 55]
[STR: 60]
[DEX: 20]
[INT: 15]
[WIS: 5]
[LCK: 10]
[Peter Axel or better known as "Old Pete" was a greedy man in life. Always finding ways to make a quick buck by any means. Even murdering his own brother for the ownership of the mine. Now in death his greed for the souls of anyone who enters the mine is what keeps this revenant bound to the living plane.]
[Perks]
[Dungeon Boss Bonus LVL 2: + 150 to HP, MP, and SP.]
[Tremor Sense: can locate anything touching the ground in a 50 feet radius.]
[Stone stillness: your affinity with stone aids your recovery. Restore 20% of HP, MP and SP when standing still]
Old Pete brought down his pickaxe and to Jack's surprise a wave of stalagmites came rushing at him! Jumping out of the way Jack sent out a [Frost Bomb] only for Old Pete for raise a rock wall blocking it! Cursing Jack tried to get close only for another barrage of stalagmites sent his way. Thinking quickly, he sent out a bunch of [Frost Darts] hoping that the quicker and faster shards will him the boss before he could summon a rock wall.
Old Pete saw this and raise his wall again only for three of the ice shards to hit him while the others were blocked.
[Old Pete]
[HP: 520/550]
[MP: 100/250]
"You damn dog! I'll make sure you pay for that!" Pete bellowed as he again sent a wave of rock at Jack. Jack simply kept running and dodging. Even if he can't get close Pete was using a lot of his magic, all he had to do was wait Pete out and wear him down. Sending out another wave of [Frost Darts] in hopes of either hitting Pete or make him use the more of his magic. Unfortunately for Jack the rock wall blocked the attack completely, but it also cost Pete a lot of magic.
[Old Pete]
[HP: 520/550]
[MP: 25/250]
The corpse glared at Jack with before smirking. "You're a slippery one boy. But let's see how you handle me with my crew." To Jack's shock and disgust Pete's large belly started to shake before he vomited out a half dozen purple lights. Seeing those lights Jack remember what happen last time. Getting ready he saw six skeletons raise and charge at him. Waiting until they got close Jack activated [War Cry] again.
[War cry used! 7 enemies in range. + 28 to CON, STR, and DEX.]
Feeling the rush of energy Jack hacked and slash at the skeletons striking each one fast. In less than a minute there were all down. Turning back to Old Pete his eyes widen at what he saw.
[Old Pete]
[HP: 550/550]
[MP: 75/250]
He used the skeletons as a distraction to heal himself while Jack was busy fighting! Angry at this Jack dashed towards him, once he got up close, he swung down his axe striking the undead mine boss.
[Old Pete]
[HP: 420/550]
[MP: 75/250]
"Ah! You damn varmint!' Old Pete yelled out. Stomping his foot Old Pete made a wall of stalagmites to form around him hitting Jack in the process.
[- 120HP!]
That really hurt. Getting up Jack saw Old Pete summoning ten more skeletons. Jack charged at them activating [War Cry] again.
[War cry used! 10 new enemies in range. + 40 to CON, STR, and DEX.]
Jack felt like he was light as air as he zoomed past each skeleton taking them out. Seeing this Old Pete summon the last of his skeletons. As Jack finish the second wave the fourteen new skeletons charged at him. Grinning Jack sent out a barrage of [Frost Bombs] taking seven of them out, the rest were put to the axe as Jack was striking each one down. Turning back to Old Pete he just let out an annoyed groan. Once again Old Pete healed himself completely. Growling Jack dodged another wave of stalagmites and charged in unleashing a fury of axe strikes.
[Old Pete]
[HP: 387/550]
[MP: 200/250]
[Old Pete]
[HP: 224/550]
[MP: 200/250]
[Old Pete]
[HP: 61/550]
[MP: 200/250]
"Enough!" Sending a wave of stalagmites out to try to skewer Jack only for him to dodge out of the way. "You won't stop me Boy! This mine! It's Treasures! Hell, the whole damn world is mine! I am not going to let some kid get in my way!"
He seemed to go ballistic as he sent wave after wave at Jack, trying to hit him. Jack for his part just kept dodging. Seeing the undead mine boss go berserk wasn't a surprise to Jack, from the notes he found and way the corpse acted it was obvious to anyone to see this guy hated it when things didn't go his way. Once the dead fool used the last of his magical reserves Jack rushed him and ended the fight with a final slash.
[All enemies defeated. War Cry bonuses removed]
[Exhaustion status inflicted for 1 hour 8 minutes]
[You slain 30 Skeleton Miners]
[+ 3000XP!]
[30 old pickaxes]
[237 gemstones]
[You Leveled up]
[+ 5AP]
[You slain Old Pete]
[+ 3500XP!]
[+ $1000]
[ ? Crystal]
[You leveled up!]
[+ 5AP]
[For defeating Old Pete for the first time please select one of these one-time offers]
[Pete's gold tooth: A gold tooth on a chain. +10% more money from any chest]
[Pete's Pickaxe: A pickaxe with a bloody past. +10% more money from kills with this weapon]
[Spell Tome Stone Skin: Hardens the casters skin to that of stone increasing defense at the cost of DEX.]
It wasn't a hard choice for Jack, the pickaxe was useless since it would rely on him killing. The gold tooth was tempting but since he could get money from mobs it wasn't too great, plus he really didn't want to carry a tooth from a zombie's mouth. So, in the end Jack pick the spell.
[Spell tome: Stone Skin has been added you your inventory.]
[For constant dodging + 4 DEX]
[For unleashing powerful blows +3 STR]
[War Cry Leveled up]
[War Cry LVL 3 (4/121)]
[Unleash a roar of blood lust enhancing you for every enemy nearby.]
[+ 6 to CON, STR, and DEX for every enemy in 10 feet, bonus wear off once combat ends]
[6% chance to stun enemies]
[3% chance to cause fear in enemies]
[Will leave user exhausted for several minutes base on stat increase. +2 Stats = 2 Minutes]
[Cost: 25 SP]
[Blunt Mastery leveled up!]
[Blunt Mastery Level 6 35/176]
[Passively increase all blunt weapon damage by 14%]
[Passively increase chances to break bones by 5%]
[Passively increase critical hit chances by 3%]
[Frost Bomb Leveled up!]
[Frost Bomb LVL 5 (5/146)]
[Send out a ball of ice that explodes on impact.]
[Cost: 40 MP]
[130 Damage]
[Radius: 8 feet]
[15% chance to freeze targets]
[Miner's Folly has been added to Instant Dungeon Creation]
Jack just laid there on the cold ground. He was amazed honestly. Before entering this dungeon, he didn't expect to level up so much but here he was sitting on thirty attribute points. Since he wasn't going to get up any time soon Jack brought up his stats.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Race: Human]
[Title: The Gamer]
[LVL: 13 (458/4350)]
[HP: 490/490]
[MP: 451/451]
[SP: 490/490]
[CON: 30]
[STR: 31+(10)]
[DEX: 35(+15)]
[INT: 27]
[WIS: 24]
[LCK: 14]
[AP: 30]
[$1980]
Impressive for a guy who almost got eaten by rats. Looking over his stats he put three into intelligence and six into wisdom bringing both up to thirty. He was tempted to sink the rest into luck but remember how it felt when [War Cry] was active. The way he just moved and took out each one of the skeletons was amazing. If he could do that without [War Cry] then it would be great, plus no exhaustion debuff. After thinking it over he put five each into his CON, STR, and DEX while putting the rest into luck.
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 13 (458/4350)]
[HP: 555/555]
[MP: 490/490]
[SP: 555/555]
[CON: 35]
[STR: 36+(10)]
[DEX: 40(+15)]
[INT: 30]
[WIS: 30]
[LCK: 20]
[AP: 0]
[$2180]
Nice, after the exhaustion debuff wore off Jack went to the small tunnel in the back. Walking through Jack found himself going up and after a few minutes he found a chest and a crack in the wall to the outside. Going to the chest first Jack found it to have two hundred in cash, three [Weak healing potions] and… a key?
[Sin of Greed Key]
[One of seven keys each depicting a particular sin. Find all seven and the chamber to the vault of sins will be revealed to you.]
Why does he get the feeling that inside the vault is a powerful boss he would have to fight? Shaking his head Jack chose to worry about that later. Moving out of the crevice Jack found himself outside behind the miner communal housing. Huh who knew. Walking towards his camp Jack heard what sounded like cars. Thinking quickly, He ran inside the building and hid next to one of the windows. Looking outside Jack watched what was happing. Pulling up to the mine was a red and blue semi-truck, a green SUV, and a red dodge challenger. Jack just looked at the strange motorcade in confusion.
'What the? Why would anyone be here. Are they here to reopen the mine? Wait. Where are their drivers!?' Jack shock only grew as each one of them transformed into giant robots! The largest looked around before bringing a hand to its head.
"Ratchet, we're at the source of the energy reading, anything on your end?" After a moment it turned to the other two. "There has been another signal, one minute before we arrive. Search the area and be careful." It ordered.
'Energy reading? What energy reading? Wait, a minute, that's when I exited the mine. They're tracking me entering and leaving the dungeons!'
[For putting things together quickly + 1 INT.]
'Not now!' Jack watched the three walked around. The leader, or at least he seemed to be the leader walked to the mine's entrance, the green one walk behind the communal house, probably towards the exit and the red one with horns was…Crap it was near his campsite!
"Optimus, Bulkhead! I found a human campsite!" The red one called out. This got the attention of the other two.
"Any sign of the human occupant?" The leader asked.
"Negative Optimus. By the looks of things, they're not here, but if they left their supplies that means they'll be back."
"Bulkhead do a seismic scan like Cliffjumper and Arcee did with the sewers. Cliffjumper form a perimeter and keep watch for any humans. We must keep our cover." The robot, no, Optimus ordered.
The green one, Bulkhead went to the mine and began lightly hitting, well lightly for a giant robot, the ground. The red one, Cliffjumper transformed back to a car and drove off. Optimus looked around; it or he began turning to the communal house forcing Jack to duck down. Jack could hear steps walking towards him. He primed a [Frost Bomb] in his hand, if he has to fight, he was going give it his all. He got ready to jump out and blast this Optimus guy the moment he got close. The steps stopped and Optimus lean down, Jack was about to make his move when there was a small crash on the other side of the house. Out from the side a grey fox jumped out, it looked at Optimus before it ran away.
"Just one of the native wildlife." Optimus muttered.
"Prime, I got the scan." Bulkhead said.
"Then let us return to base." They transformed and drove away but not before Jack used [Observe] on Optimus.
[Name: Optimus Prime]
[Title: ?]
[Race: ?}
[LVL: ?]
[HP: ?]
[MP: ?]
[SP: ?]
[CON: ?]
[STR: ?]
[DEX: ?]
[INT: ?]
[WIS: ?]
[LCK: ?]
Jack waited a few more minutes before he finally walked out of the communal building. He had a dozen questions right now. What did he just see? What were they? And most importantly What should he do now?
[Name: Jack Darby]
[Title: The Gamer]
[Race: Human]
[LVL: 13 (458/4350)]
[HP: 555/555]
[MP: 490/490]
[SP: 555/555]
[CON: 35]
[STR: 36]
[DEX: 40(+5)]
[INT: 30]
[WIS: 30]
[LCK: 20]
[AP: 0]
[$2180]
Well, that was chapter 4 everyone. Honestly when I started this, I didn't plan on leveling Jack up so much but here we are. Did anyone spot the reference I put in here if so your awesome, if not your still awesome but I have a reading recommendation for you!
Have a wonderful day and I'll see you in chapter 5 or should I say Darkness Rising Part 1!
Please review if you want.