Ch-8: Path to Bonevoultion
A/N: After 4 days of not writing, I was on a small writer's block. I will try and post another quickly, that chapter that will end this dungeon delve.
Words: >2000
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Ethan looked at the surge of notifications in his vision, and his jaw parted in a wide grin. His eyes scanned through the messages, quickly noting the critical information.
Finally, the first details about his Evolutionary perk had appeared. He needed to reach the highest level achievable in his species to be able to evolve.
And to choose his class, he would have to evolve into it.
Excitement bubbled within him as he eagerly opened the system panel. At the bottom of all the options, a new shining text had appeared:
[EVOLUTION]
His anticipation soared. Amidst his excitement, he wanted to open and explore this new option immediately, but a sudden sound interrupted his thoughts. Dull thumps echoed through the cave, slowly getting closer.
The noise seemed to come from beyond the door that the pair of orcs had once guarded.
Realizing that enemies were near, Ethan let go of his curiosity and quickly focused on buffing his stats to tackle the imminent threat.
His mind raced, formulating a plan. He needed to increase his dexterity first, as it was closest to reaching 20 points, which would grant him another skill.
Next, he debated between strength and endurance. Considering the monsters he was fighting, he knew he couldn't take the orcs head-on, even with increased strength.
As for penetrating their thick hide, he had "Sharpen" in his arsenal. Endurance would increase his health and defense, ensuring he wouldn't be easily taken out. Being a glass cannon wasn't his style.
He added two points to dexterity, bringing it up to 20. Then, he allocated six points to endurance, also bringing it to 20. Finally, he added the remaining two points to strength, bringing it up to 16.
All of this happened in the span of a minute or two. As the thumping grew louder, Ethan felt the surge of power from the stat increases.
With each point allocated, he felt a surge of power course through his bones. His movements felt more fluid, his body more resilient. The dull thumps grew louder, now accompanied by guttural growls. It felt like they were talking amongst themselves.
New notifications for skills flashed before Ethan's eyes, but he barely registered them, his focus laser-sharp on the immediate threat.
He took a deep breath, steadying himself. The newfound strength and agility filled him with confidence.
Ethan glanced at the burning embers of the goblin corpses, their faint light casting eerie shadows on the cave walls, he still held advantage in terms of vision and maybe even surprise.
Quickly, he shifted the corpses of the previously slain orcs into his inventory, clearing the path for an ambush.
Positioning himself beside the door, Ethan listened intently. The growls became more distinct, from the heavy, guttural sounds, he knew they were orcs.
Then the door creaked open, and an orc growled into the darkness. The room, once brightly lit, was now a realm of shadows and flickering embers. The orc hesitated, sniffing the air, sensing the blood and charred flesh but seeing little.
The second orc, less cautious, swaggered in, its club resting on its shoulder. In a flash, Ethan's sword gleamed, and a swift slash sent the orc's head tilting back, barely attached by a sliver of skin. It stood there, stunned and now…lifeless.
Before its legs gave way and it collapsed in a heap.
The cautious orc instinctively took a step back, glancing towards the tunnel it had come from, and a shiver ran up its spine.
It turned its head back and steeled itself before hefting its massive club and charging forward into the darkness across its dead comrade.
Suddenly, at the corner of its vision, the orc caught sight of something. Its reflexes kicked in, and it brought its club up to its neck, just in time to block Ethan's blow.
The force reverberated through the cave, and Ethan knew he couldn't press on with his limited strength. He disengaged swiftly, fading back into the darkness before the orc could counter.
The orc, confused and disoriented, scanned the shadows but saw nothing.
A sharp pain erupted from its left ankle, and before it could react, a similar agony flared in its right ankle.
Its tendons severed, the orc collapsed to its knees, unable to stand.
Ethan seized the moment. Channeling "Sharpen," he dashed forward, aiming to end the fight with a decisive blow. The orc, driven by survival instincts, propped its club up as a shield.
But, Ethan's sword was already in motion, aiming for the orc's neck. He couldn't halt mid-swing, so he pressed on, intending to slice through both the club and the orc.
Although he didn't think it was possible with his current strength, unless…
Then the blade struck the club.
Thanks to "Sharpen," it cut through the wood like butter, though the obstacle slowed the momentum enough to render the strike non-lethal.
But Ethan was one Lucky skeleton.
The sword connected with the orc's neck, and a notification flashed in Ethan's vision.
[Critical strike! 5x Damage delivered.]
A crimson rain erupted from the orc's severed neck.
Its head toppled to the ground, followed by the lifeless body collapsing in a heap.
After the notification emerged, Ethan's sword lost its bluish glow as the one-minute time limit on his "Sharpen" skill expired. The weapon, now brittle and useless, crumbled to dust in his hand. Ethan tossed the hilt aside with a sigh.
'This is becoming a hassle,' he thought, his frustration evident. 'I need to get a better sword, eventually.'
His mind then wandered to the notification. 'So, I still get Exp even if I don't level up. Will it transfer after evolution or reset back to zero? I guess we'll see it once I evolve.'
Ethan's gaze shifted to the tunnel beyond the gate. It curved to the right after a few meters, and he could see a faint light reflecting off the uneven walls. The sight piqued his curiosity, but he knew better than to rush forward unprepared.
Deciding he couldn't afford to be caught off guard, he bent down to collect the Orc corpses, thinking they might be useful in the future. It was a habit ingrained from years of playing RPG games.
The Orc corpses disappeared from the ground, reappearing in Ethan's inventory as pixelated icons.
With a final glance at the now-empty chamber, Ethan started to move towards the tunnel, his skeletal feet padding silently on the ground. The tunnel was well-lit, torches casting flickering light on the stone walls. Shadows danced around him as he walked, the air cool and damp against his bones.
After a few minutes of walking, he reached the end of the tunnel. Before him stood another set of heavy wooden doors, similar to the ones he had encountered before. He approached cautiously, the silence pressing in on him.
He paused, straining to hear any sounds from beyond the door. Nothing. The quiet was unnerving, and Ethan's grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. The sword was one of the goblin's.
Carefully, he pushed the door open a crack, peeking inside to assess what lay beyond.
With the door slightly open, Ethan could now see inside the room. He moved closer to the parting and peered inside, what he saw was nothing short of bizarre.
The room was well-lit, revealing a wooden throne draped with fur pelts. Seated on the throne was a goblin wearing a leather dress adorned with feathers and beads, its head crowned with a headdress made of animal bones and leaves. In its hand, it held a stick with a knotted end, which it used to beat an Orc kneeling before it.
The Orc grunted with every strike, while the goblin screeched and grunted, its tone high-pitched and full of irritation. It waved the stick animatedly, pointing and jabbing at the Orc as if scolding it for some failure. The goblin's gestures were exaggerated, its green face twisted in what Ethan could only assume was fury.
Ethan watched, mesmerized. The Orc's passive acceptance of the beating suggested that the goblin was strong or held some significant power over it. The goblin's screeches grew louder, each strike landing with a dull thud, while the Orc continued to grunt in pain but did not retaliate.
Ethan shook himself from his distraction and scanned the room through the crack in the door, searching for anything that might aid him in combat. His limited view revealed a few things: a rack of crude weapons against one wall, a pile of what looked like potions or vials near the throne, and an orange mana stone hanging from the ceiling.
He also spotted a pair of Orcs guarding a small door, which only reached their knees.
Ethan carefully considered his options. The weapons could be useful, maybe even for ranged attacks. As for the potions, he wasn't sure if he could use them. Without the right structures to drink them, maybe they could be poured on his body instead.
He scanned the area for anything that might give him an advantage, maybe help him sneak in without being seen. But the room was well-lit due to the hanging mana stone, and breaking it was out of the question—it was too far away.
The only way in was through the door he was peering through, but that was definitely going to get him seen unless everybody in the room was blind.
Ethan sighed, then closed the door and backed up a step. Thinking of preparing, he decided to check his skills.
He opened the system panel and clicked on the [Skills] tab.
[Passive Skills]
{Minor Night Vision}: Lets you see in the dark. Passive available to creatures of the Dark.
{Aspect of Lynx}: Increases movement speed by 10%. Increases Critical strike chance by 15%. Increases accuracy by 10%.
{Swordsmanship/HEMA}: Level 1
You are an initiate in the uses of a sword.
[Active Skills]
{Bone Shield}: Level 1
Cost: 10 mana
Duration: 1 hour
Cooldown: 5 min
Summon a temporary shield made of bones to block attacks. It can absorb 50 points of damage before it disintegrates.
{Skeletal Repair}: Level 1
Cost: 10 mana
Duration: Instant
Cooldown: None
Use mana to repair minor damage to your bones. Exchanges 10 mana for 10 health.
{Sharpen}: Level 1
Cost: 10 mana
Duration: 1 minute
Cooldown: 5 minutes
Applies a layer of mana on the sword, making it sharper than normal. Decreases durability of non-mana recipient swords.
{Dash}: Level 1
Cost: Saps N/A stamina
Duration: 1 second
Cooldown: 1 minute
Saps a part of the user's stamina to boost speed up to 500 percent for a second.
{Fortify}: Level 1
Cost: 20 mana
Duration: 5 minutes
Cooldown: 1 minute
Applies a layer of mana on the body to act as a shield with 20 health points.
[Species Traits]
Doesn't Breathe; Unlimited Stamina; Doesn't Eat or Drink; Doesn't Sleep; High Pain Threshold; Immunity to Disease; Immunity to Mind Control; Immunity to Poison; Indomitable.
[Perks]
1. Evolutionary: Special beings with the power to create custom evolutionary paths, not available for normal monsters.
2. Calm Mind: Able to make calm and calculative decisions in almost any circumstance.
…
The newly acquired skills, {Aspect of Lynx} and {Fortify}, could help him tremendously, especially with throwing weapons.
And with {Bone Shield} and {Skeletal Repair}, he had enough defense and health to take on things stronger than Orcs.
At the thought of things stronger than orcs, his mind went to the weirdly dressed goblin beating up the orc, and Ethan started to speculate.
From his DnD knowledge and the things the goblin wore and had, he could guess that maybe the goblin was a mage, a shaman to be specific.
If it was really the case, then this was his first magical opponent. Except for the knowledge of RPG video games and DnD, he didn't have any practical experience dealing with mages.
Still, some basics could be applied in the situation. Shamans were usually glass cannons and had limited spells and mana. The best thing to do was somehow expend their arsenal and then close the distance to take them out.
Thinking of expending its arsenal, Ethan considered the goblin and Orc corpses stored in his inventory. Maybe they could help.
With that decision, he readied himself and opened the gate…