3 The first crawl
As Roland woke up after his exhausting first day, he started blinking a bit more as if to wake himself up.
As Roland stared at the stone/ marble floor of the dungeon, he started remembering where he was and that he wasn't truly safe.
As if he was stricken by a lighting jolt he jumped on his two feet and looked around to see... that nothing changed.
"God... I almost peed my pants." As Roland said that he stared at the pants that he was wearing.
They looked nothing impressive to be honest just some cloth pants and an extra cloth shirt.
'hmm? I don't remember wearing those. maybe I got them when I first came here.' thought Roland to himself.
As Roland was mulling his clothing situation over, he suddenly remembered
the stone that he got from the rat he 'Defeated'.
As Roland got up and walked a few steps, he picked up the stone, only for him to hear a similar *ping* sound.
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Do you wish to absorb the [Lowest grade] mana stone?
*Yes *No
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As Roland pressed the 'Yes' Button, it started melting in his hand only for it to absorb the liquidated stone.
*PING*
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1/5 Mana stones absorbed.
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'So I need 4 more of those? But why though?' As Roland was thinking about his new quest another thought passed through him.
"Did I just interact with the system physically?"
But before Roland could get distracted once more he suddenly felt as if he was watched.
As he started watching his surroundings he saw a small figure flying towards him with quite the speed. And before he could see the figure he ducked.
'SHIT! What was that!'
As Roland turned around to see his new opponent he was suddenly bitten on his arm.
"ARGH!" Roland yelled in pain.
When his eyes landed on his opponent he saw a small snake with even smaller wings that reminded Roland of butterflies and bats at the same time.
But before Roland could appreciate his new opponents' wings he was brought back from his thoughts by another sensation of pain.
'Shit! what do I do? I don't have a weapon!' As Roland was freaking out because of his lack of equipment he saw a crack on the marble wall. As if possessed he ran near the crack and saw smaller rocks of marble near the crack.
Once he picked the biggest marble rock he started hitting the snake.
At first, he hit the wings which made the snake hiss in pain but before the snake could retaliate, Roland started hitting the snake more and a bit stronger than before the first hit.
Not even after 6th or 7th hit, Roland heard a soft *crunch* as he hit the snake's head.
After this, he once again heard the pinging sound in his head which told him that he defeated the small snake.
Once the snake was defeated, the snake released its bite from Rolands' left hand.
After Roland saw the state of the snake he plopped right there where he once stood.
"What the f**k is wrong with this place" said Roland with clear frustration and fear.
Once Roland voiced his frustration out loud he saw the snake slowly disintegrating into clear white particles, which later formed into the collared stone once again.
Roland couldn't stop staring at the stone as he finally saw the full process of the disintegration.
"You know what? I don't give a rat's ass about it right now." As Roland finally stood up, he started coming towards the stone. He finally saw that it wasn't just a collared stone.
To confirm his suspicions he picked it up Ignoring the other ping in his head, he started going towards a torch that seemingly never went out he stared at the stone.
'No... It isn't just some stone. It's a crystal, just an incredibly muddled one, well No wonder that when I first saw it I thought it was just a slightly collared stone.'
As Roland was readying himself to absorb the stone, he remembered a very important fact.
"System called these crystals 'Mana stones'. Witch either means that in this unknown place magic exists or that system is lying to me."
'But I'm not stupid. After seeing these creatures, I'm almost 100% sure.'
"Sigh... What has my life come to? Well technically death, but still..."
As Roland was finally ready to absorb the stone he was about to open the systems interface, but before he could take his attention to the key's logo, the panel opened itself.
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Do you wish to absorb [Lowest grade] Mana stone?
*Yes *No
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Roland pressed yes. Witch made the mana stone melt in his hand once again.
*PING*
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2/5 Mana stones absorbed
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As Roland was about to close the panel and sit on the ground to take a quick breather, he heard 3 small screeches that he felt were very similar to the very first encounter
'Shit...'
As Roland turned Around he saw 3 rats that were similar in size to the very first rat that he encountered before. The only difference was that they were only 1 or 2 millimeters smaller than the first rat.
As they started running towards him, Roland prepared for a fight for his life but this time was equipped with a rock, even though his left hand was hurting.
As the first rat came near him, it jumped high in the air aiming itself straight for his face.
Which Roland predicted because his right hand was in the middle of a swing.
As the Rat was hit with quite an impressive force, it screeched in pain before flying a good 2 meters back.
As Roland was about to finish his job he saw the other 2 rats jumping towards him, but this time from both his sides.
At the last moment, he rolled forward and started running towards the injured rat to finish it off. Witch wasn't a long run as it was already near him.
The next moment he was only a few centimeters away from the rat, and he swung with all his might downwards toward the Rat.
After he made the hit he at first heard flesh tearing after that he heard a ping in his head which confirmed, that his job was indeed finished.
As he spun backward already ready to be jumped at, he saw the other 2 rats fighting each other instead of him.
Witch was baffling in its own right but he wasn't about to interrupt or complain.
After a minute or so, there was a winner. one of the rats bit the other's neck which killed the other, And before the winner could take a second for himself it was killed by Ronald who watching them the entire time like a hawk.
*PING*
'Geez this one was loud' Thought Ronald to himself.
Before checking the panel he picked the 3 remaining mana stones with just one arm. After Looking at them from his palm he pondered a bit before he began the process of absorption.
*PING*
'Another loud one. If this continues I'll get a headache sooner or later'
And before he could think he saw a new panel before him.
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5/5 Mana stones absorbed
[Comensing an Upgrade]
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"An Upgrade?" Said Roland questioningly.
As Roland stood there he tried to summon the systems panel, only for nothing to happen.
'Hmmm... Ok that's weird'
After a minute Ronald started to get a feeling as if some kind of blanked was consuming from outside to inside.
At first, it started from his skin then that feeling started traveling inside his flesh to his heart slowly.
'At least I'm not in pain' Thought Ronald.
After a minute of being uncomfortable Ronald heard another ping, but this time it had less of a mechanical bell sound. It now had more of a melodic undertone to it.
Suddenly a new Window opened but this time it looked way different not only in its design but also in its options.
"Holy sh-
