CHAPTER 2 - PART 1

Waking up, the pain was unbearable, as if my face and body were burning from the inside. It took me a moment to gather my thoughts, the memory of the horror experienced coming back in floods. Panicked, I scanned the surroundings, searching for the sinister entity that previously reigned over the room, but it had disappeared, along with the macabre torture machines. Only the corpses of my companions remained, those still recognizable. The sight of their barely intact bodies provoked an acidic rise in my throat, and the foul smell filling the air made me vomit.

I forced myself to approach the bodies of Thomas and Marcus. The sight pierced my heart, and I felt overwhelmed by guilt. Gently closing their eyes, I promised to find the entity to avenge their souls.

As I activated my skill, a myriad of information surged into my mind, the black liquid had merged with my being and had evolved my previous skill. Briefly, my vision darkened while my head felt like it was about to explode. The sensation quickly passed, and a golden interface appeared before my eyes. It was divided into two parts: Mission and inventory.

Currently, there was only one mission displayed, which was to escape the present dungeon alive. In comparison, my inventory was much more abundant. It contained the few bodies and treasure bags of the Greedy Goblins our team had defeated as well as three Golden Coupons. I instinctively knew the Coupons were part of my skill, they were a 'ticket' for unique rewards, and I simply needed to take one and think about it to use it.

Without waiting, I used one of the Golden Coupons, and a roulette, similar to that of the horrible entity, appeared in front of me. The choices on the roulette were not unknown symbols, but words I recognized: Towers, Special Buildings, Unique NPC, Equipment, and Miscellaneous Items.

I spun the roulette for the first time, and it quietly stopped on the section: Towers. After some disturbing visual effects, the system indicated that I had won two Chain Ballista Towers. Looking into my inventory, two images of the towers were there. Pleasantly surprised, I proceeded with the second Golden Coupon. I hoped for a Unique NPC this time, but the roulette passed this section and ended its course on the Special Buildings section: Nebulous Vortex acquired.

I examined my inventory to learn more about this new addition and discovered that the Nebulous Vortex was, as its name indicated, a vortex wrapped in an ethereal mist emitting an evil vibration. This vibration served to attract nearby monsters, creating a hypnotic and dangerous spectacle in which those caught were torn apart by the shearing energy of the vortex.

This time, I was extremely surprised; already the towers were quite impressive, this Nebulous Vortex was by far 'OP'. With these two draws done, I anticipated the third. I used the last Golden Coupon, and the roulette began to spin.

"NPC, NPC, NPC," I whispered, wishing the roulette would stop on this section.

The ticks of the roulette continued for a brief moment before finally stopping on…

Unique NPC!

I was ecstatic, wondering what kind of NPC I would receive, maybe it would be one of my 'waifus' or maybe Arc Daver who knows!

To my great disappointment, I received: Lamethéo. Like the other items, the NPC was in my inventory. The brief description seemed to indicate that it was probably an assassin: Lamethéo, a nightmarish creature with sharp blades, is an agile and elusive threat. Its dark silhouette evokes a twisted fusion between steel and shadow. This monster possesses the unique ability to teleport over short distances, making every fight a deadly dance.

After being informed, I was a bit less disappointed. It would probably be more useful than I initially thought.

"Oh but now that I think about it…" I murmured, reflecting on the information absorbed earlier, with all these new features, I hadn't even activated my skill yet. The interface was only a tool to help manage it. Instinctively, I knew my platform skill had transformed and was now called: Divine Game, a skill that once activated, allowed me to disappear and have an omniscient view over a one square kilometer distance. In this state, I could use my inventory and control the objects within it at will, placing them anywhere within the action radius.

"It's an unimaginable transformation, worthy of its name," I thought in awe, reminiscing over all the information acquired earlier. "But this change was only acquired after I had absorbed the black liquid from the entity's crystal. So as much as it's a blessing, it could also be a curse…"

I should keep this secret to myself, at least for now.