I stared at the watch on my hand, processing everything the principal had said. Honestly, it didn't matter if I was the first or last to enter the dungeon; it was just an insignificant detail.
The principal was then handed a small glowing orb. He crushed the orb, and then…
BOOM!
A spiraling mass of blue energy erupted, and a surge of mana wafted through the air. The whole auditorium felt like it was shaking, just like the night the dungeon opened up outside my apartment building.
"You will enter the dungeon in the order you were given. The student assigned number 1, please enter."
I got up from my seat and approached the stage. I could feel the other students' eyes peering at me, but I paid them no mind. When I reached the stage, the principal gave me a nod, and I proceeded to enter through the gate.
As I stepped through, all I could see was a blinding blue light until, somehow, I was standing on a sandy shore. To my back was the ocean, and in front of me was a lush green forest.
Without a second thought, I headed into the forest. This was a dungeon, after all. The smart thing to do was to acquire some skill points. As I neared the trees, I pulled out the middle finger. I noticed the vegetation seemed almost tropical for some reason.
I kept my eyes locked on my surroundings as I walked. So far, I hadn't seen any signs of life—not even a bird or bugs. This made the principal's words even more meaningful. If there were no animals to hunt, that meant our only source of food would be the supply drop.
And you couldn't even tough it out either since your vitals would drop, and you would be eliminated. They were purposefully instigating a fight between the applicants. Monsters weren't the only things to worry abou—
SWOOSH
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted something, and then I heard what sounded like cackling. There were movements coming from the bushes around me. It continued like that until one of the creatures emerged; it was as big as me.
It looked like a hyena, and from their cackling, they definitely sounded like one. I gripped my weapon tightly and stared at them. That's when three more of them emerged, surrounding me in all directions.
With the weight of this suit, I had a feeling that if I swung at them, I would be left swinging at air. If I wanted to make it out of this situation alive, I had to take a massive gamble.
Screw it!
I put the middle finger back into my inventory and pulled out the Blade of Calamity instead, keeping the blade facing upwards so it would be easier to stab.
The first beast charged at me, baring its fangs. It leaped at me, and as expected, it went straight for my throat. I blocked it at the last second with my arm. Its teeth sank down on the metal guard of my suit.
I had it right where I wanted it. I sank the blade into its throat. The creature fought back, but its resistance only gave way to tear. The blade slit its entire throat open, blood poured onto the ground as it retreated back. Then It let out a pained roar before collapsing to the ground.
This was my strategy: to use the suit as a shield so that I could get close. And the knife worked better at such close distances than the katana.
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE GAINED 5 SKILL POINTS]
Five? That's the same as what I got from the goblins.
I didn't have time to relax; before I knew it, the other three attacked. They were unified this time, charging at me all at once. I threw the knife, and it whistled through the air, its weight propelling it like a high-speed projectile until it lodged into one of their heads.
The beast collapsed to the ground without a sound. At the same time, I retrieved the blade back into my inventory and turned my attention to the other two charging at me.
I used the same strategy I had employed on the first beast. Since their fangs and claws couldn't penetrate my suit, close combat was the best option.
They lunged at me, doing their best to tear through my suit, but it was to no avail. The moment they locked on, I aimed for their throats and dispatched them quickly. In total, I managed to gain 20 skill points from the beasts I had killed.
Now, it was time to enhance my suit.
[ENHANCEMENT]
+-----+
WEIGHT 140->120
+-----+
The weight felt drastically diminished, allowing me to fight more effectively. With the monsters dead, I took shade under a tree to regain my stamina. After I regained my strength, I headed deeper into the forest. It wasn't long before I ran into a pack of wolves, except these ones had horns on their heads.
There were only three of them in total. They charged at me like the wild animals they were, and I waited until the last second to pull the middle finger out from my inventory.
As they say: Never show the sheep the knife before the slaughter.
I dispatched them with ease. The blade tore through their flesh as if it were nothing. They weren't as strong as the hyenas I had fought a while ago; in fact, all I got for my effort was 9 mangy points; 3 points each.
But my luck soon took a turn—there was a whole den of them living inside a small cave not far from where I killed the other three. From my hiding spot in the bushes, I watched from a distance as a couple of them lounged outside the cave.
It was now or never.
I stepped out from my hiding spot where they could see me. They immediately spring to their feet growling at me. They then charged, baring their fangs. Just like the rest, I was able to cut them down with ease. After dealing with those outside the den, I went inside the cave for the others.
My suit made it impossible for them to inflict any damage; it was like slaughtering helpless chickens. In the end, it didn't even matter; none of them made it close enough to even try to penetrating my armor.
By the time I was finished, the entire cave was littered with corpses and blood. I couldn't move an inch in either direction without either tripping or slipping.
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE GAINED 42 SKILL POINTS]
I gained 42 skill points, plus 9 from the three wolves I killed before finding the den—that makes a total of 51.
"Open Weapon's stat."
[OPENING WEAPON'S STATS]
WEAPON NAME: BLADE OF CALAMITY
WEAPON TYPE: HUNTING KNIFE
LEVEL: EPIC GRADE
SHARPNESS: 15
DURABILTIY: 10
WEIGHT: 2
I'll use most of the points I've acquired to enhance the Blade of Calamity. Thirty points should be enough.
[ENHANCEMENT]
+-----+
SHARPNESS 15->30
DURABILITY 10->23
WEIGHT 2->∞
+-----+
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED A DIVINE GRADE BLADE.]
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE UNLOCKED NEW SKILL: GODLY CRAFT]
Divine Grade?! Shouldn't it have upgraded to a Premium Grade Blade?
The moment I saw that notification, I dropped the blade onto the ground. Just like last time, it began to emit a golden glow until it melted into magma and then reconstructed itself. This time, the blade was longer and more pointed.
It still had the bluish tint, and the handle was etched with runes. I couldn't tell if the runes were different, but the knife now resembled more of a dagger.
[DING!]
[THE BLADE OF CALAMITY HAVE OBTAINED A NEW ATTRIBUTE]
[PROCESSING ATTRIBUTE]
+-----+
ATTRIBUTE NAME: INVISIBILITY
DESCRIPTION: ALLOWS THE WEAPON TO BE INVISIBLE TO EVERYONE EXCEPT THE OWNER
+-----+
Obtaining a new skill and attribute was all well and good, but something else caught my attention—a glowing red orb at the back of the cave. It felt as if it were calling to me.
I made my way over to it and pulled it from the ground it was embedded in.
[DING!]
[YOU HAVE OBTAINED FIRE ESSENSE CRYSTAL]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE YOUR NEW SKILL 'GODLY CRAFT' TO PASS THE ATTRIBUTE TO ONE OF YOUR WEAPONS?] [Y/N]
"Can I get a description of what it does?"
Before making a decision, it would be best to find out what it was first.
[CERTAINLY! FIRE ESSENCE, AT A BASIC LEVEL, ENABLES YOU TO EMBUE YOUR WEAPON WITH FLAMES.]
The way the system phrased the answer caught my attention.
"You said it's at a basic level, does that mean I can enhance the fire essence after transferring it to one of my weapons?"
[OF COURSE! A BLACKSMITH CAN ENHANCE ANYTHING HE CHOOSES]
[WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE YOUR NEW SKILL 'GODLY CRAFT' TO PASS THE ATTRIBUTE TO ONE OF YOUR WEAPONS?] [Y/N]
"Yes"
[WHICH WEAPON WOULD YOU LIKE TO PASS IT TO]
Based on the description, the best weapon to give this attribute to is…
"Middle Finger."
Immediately, the fire essence crystal crumbled into dust and dissolved into the blade, giving it a reddish tint.
[GODLY CRAFT]
+-----+
FIRE ESSENCE->MIDDLE FINGER
+-----+
CRACK!
Before I could relish in what I had obtained. A sharp sound came from outside the cave. With the Middle Finger in hand, I dashed out to see what it was. As soon as I exited the cave, I saw it.
"A monster!"
It looked like a giant strawman, with long jagged nails attached to its fingertips. The creature swung at me. I dodged the attack and activated the fire essence on my katana. A bright orange flame erupted and engulfed the entire blade.
I slashed the strawman in half, burning it to a crisp at the same time. Just then, a cloaked figure dashed out from behind a rock it had supposedly been hiding behind.
I chased after it, grabbed the figure from behind, slammed it to the ground, and held my blade at its throat.
What I saw were terrified purple eyes staring up at me, and skin as pale as snow.
It seemed to be…
"A girl?"