One With The Abyss

I felt better after realising what had happened and continued onto the 4th floor after washing my goblin blood soaked clothes.

I was not expecting to find myself inside what looked like the fort the previous boss had been guarding.

The enemies didn't change and honestly it felt more like 3rd floor part 2. Nevertheless I started killing quickly, keeping myself in check. Abby told me that this would be good training: Emotion regulation, if I could not control myself then I could not control my power.

My sword hand swung through the green men rushing at me, not even giving time to copy talents as I slashed my way through the horde. I was using abyssal energy to empower myself while making sure that it did not negatively affect my perception. If there was one thing different about this floor, besides being inside a fort instead of a forest, it would be that there was no down time. The moment I stepped onto the floor I was under attack by waves upon waves of monsters, I couldn't have asked for a better floor to practise control on considering there were so many of them to kill.

Now that I could recognise the warning signs it was easy to keep myself under control, when I felt myself failing I would stop fighting and instead just evade the monsters, all while still using the body strengthening technique I had learned. I had considered why Abby never thought to mention that I would feel such a backlash, but the response was simple: She simply hadn't expected it.

Normally, I would have slowly gotten used to the increase in energy, but the goblin horde prevented full assimilation. As such, I was forced to use all of my power immediately and become unstable; the synergy of my hatred for goblins and the joy I felt by killing them also didn't help.

Anyway, through this new horde I managed to regulate my emotions, despite the urge to just let loose, and allow the energy to fully assimilate into me.

Around me were crudely built houses that had no furniture, they simply existed to shield goblins from the elements, nothing more. As I fought I occasionally found stronger goblins in the mix, bigger or with better weapons, so I went out of my way to copy their talents. Most gave me better weapon boosts that were then shifted into their place in the [Soul Weapon] talent, other than that there were body strengthening abilities as well. I finally managed to gain a direct strength boost with [Greater Strength] that greatly improved my strength and also gave some defence bonuses. The best part was that now my [Exalted Physique] was rated at (2/3). Improvement!

As I made my way through the horde of gross, naked, little men I knew exactly where the boss was. This floor was much smaller than any other floor, being confined to just a single goblin fort, but I chose not to immediately challenge whatever guarding the exit and instead looked around for treasure.

"I doubt the goblins will have anything of use." Abby said, she was more interested in getting done with the goblins.

"Maybe, but even if there isn't I might find out what these rings do." I said, peeking at the 2 rings I had gotten from the gatekeeper boss.

I had chosen not to put them on as it was impossible for me to know what they did, and while the dungeon had never given me anything outright dangerous I would not put it past it.

The two rings looked quite different, made from separate materials. The first was a golden ring with carving along the sides in a language I didn't understand, embedded within the 'gold' was what looked like a ruby. One time I flowed abyssal energy through the ring and each of the letters began to glow faintly, I chose to not mess with the item after that.

The other ring looked to be made from silver, which gave off a subtle bluish glow. Similarly, it also had intricate carvings along its side but I could tell they were somewhat different due to their structuring. The ring was also embedded with a blue gem that I thought could be saphire, but in reality I had no frame of reference for either gem as I had seen neither back on Earth.

Abby agreed that it was not worth risking potential curses if I could help it, so I chose not to wear them.

Abby also told me how jewellery worked. It was 2 rings per hand, 1 bracelet per wrist, 1 necklace and 1 pair of earrings. Any jewellery more than this would lose effectiveness and eventually just become decorative.

"So, I'm already at a disadvantage?" I asked, as I looked through the goblin houses, in the moments between goblin hordes attacking me.

"Pretty much yeah." I sighed at her response, lacking an arm was becoming much more of an issue every day.

Soon I came across something of value: A scroll. Abby told me that by ripping the scroll an effect would occur, furthermore this one was an appraisal scroll. Exactly what I needed.

"Now then... The gold or the silver first?" I pondered between my options and decided on gold 1st. I was glad I did this, as when I ripped the scroll I saw exactly what I wanted:

[Ring of Comprehension]

[Imbue with energy to use [Appraisal] skill]

This was amazingly useful for me but it did raise a flag in my mind.

"I thought I couldn't use skills?" I asked, having to make a dash as the goblins had caught up with me.

"You can't learn skills. Using them is fine." Abby responded as I cut my way through waves of goblins, "Though this skill is exceptionally useful, one of the best inspection skills. It doesn't seem to be an appropriate reward for killing a mere hobgoblin."

"Hey, don't complain, haha. I needed something like this anyway, why is it better though?" I asked, cleaving a tall goblin's head in half before retreating to gain distance. Killing them was easy and for the most part a waste of time, but it did offer a bonus in my sword skills as I gradually improved; learning how to fight rather than rely solely on my superior strength.

"Well, a few reasons really. For starters it allows you to see details of both items and living beings, which usually doesn't occur as an inspection skill is normally restricted to just 1 field. Secondly, it is harder to detect so using it will not alert enemies. Finally, it shows details that some skills cannot. For example, if you were to use it on your shirt it would say it was damaged, where regular skills would not." Abby's explanation only made me appreciate the ring more than I already did; and having now gained distance from the goblins I used my mouth to put the ring on. I felt no different but infused energy into it to inspect my shirt.

[High Quality Shirt]

[Designed for comfort, grants +10% recovery when resting]

[Status: Torn (-5% recovery bonus)]

"Damn, that is useful..." I muttered, attacking the goblins that had caught up with me. I used it on the other clothes I had gotten, seeing the same bonus on the other 2 items. I only received a few moments per scan because of the incoming goblins but it was enough. The next item I appraised was the silver ring.

[False Mythril Ring]

[Ring made from 'Fools Mythril']

"Huh." I almost tripped over my own feet, resulting in a goblin grabbing hold of me, after seeing the description, "What the hell is fools mythril?"

"Haha. Fools mythril is a metal found in places with similar conditions as where mythril is formed. They are exceptionally similar in appearance, only that mythril is far superior than fools mythril, hence the name." Abby chuckled at what I found, "Often, swindlers will sell it to the uninformed as real mythril. A few wars had been started over this scam, so not many do it anymore"

"So, it's a dud." I asked bluntly.

"Pretty much yeah. But it looks nice"

I sighed and threw the ring into the mass of goblins while making my way to the last of the buildings I had yet to visit. Nothing of interest was found except a leather back book in a language I couldn't read, when I used appraisal I learnt the title of the book and thought it was quite funny.

[Dauf and Behemoth]

[Children's book about a small weak goblin defeating a large, evil ogre who threatened the village]

It seemed that even in this tiny floor of the dungeon, a proper society was flourishing. It made me wonder if these goblins were naturally so vicious or if they were once capable of thought as I was. Though what was more surprising was that the goblins had their own version of 'David and Goliath'.

The 3rd and 4th floors were entirely different to the 2 that had come before them, displaying a cohesive progression from 1 floor to the next. It was honestly intriguing to see if this pattern continued, though I doubted it would, seeing how weak goblins were. I also took the opportunity to appraise a few goblins, seeing the same thing every time.

[Goblin]

[Weak but numerous. Mock a goblin, beware a horde]

The system seemed to have a lot to say.

Soon enough I had checked everything in the village. Finding only the scroll and the book, there were some tools but they were simple and crude so I chose to ignore them as my bag lacked space to carry a lot of items. 

My sights were then set on a house on a hill, the largest of the houses that sat overlooking the entire fort. It was clearly something like the chief's residence, but to me it was nothing more than the boss room.

So, I made my way over, fighting through goblins until I had made it within a reasonable distance and they stopped following. They looked at me but never dared to step closer, like a barrier kept them from getting any closer, perhaps it was fear of whatever lived in the largest shack.

Now unperturbed I allowed myself to fully recover my energy, as non-stop goblin killing had taken a toll on my energy reserves and I doubted I wanted to fight a boss without being at top condition. Especially, considering the dungeon's track record of its bosses being so much stronger than anything else on their respective floors.

With my energy recovered I pressed on, opening the door between me and the next floor. Inside was a shrivelled old goblin, its skin was wrinkled and it looked as though a light breeze could send it flying. In its hand was a gnarled wooden staff with many attachments, like crude hoops of metal or fancy looking feathers, it wore a headdress on its head similar to a native american's and covered its body in animal fur. I felt uneasy at how easy the fight looked to be, so as we stared at each other - me confused and the goblin glaring - I used appraisal, further appreciating its value.

[Goblin Shaman]

[A goblin trained in the arts of shamanism. Power lies beyond the spiritual veil]

"Shamanism?" I muttered, stepping into the room. It again made no move to stop me, I saw no need to prolong the fight and transformed my hand before stepping forward to cut the boss in 2. However, my blade came to an abrupt stop as a hexagonal barrier blocked its way. I had not used any strengthening but could tell the barrier would come down in a few hits, so while perturbed I was no less determined to kill.

However, in my desire to descend the dungeon I had neglected to inspect the room properly. As my second attack came crashing down, cracks forming along the barrier, a dark light built at the end of the shaman's staff, it rose into the air and I jumped back expecting an attack, instead the light flew to the 2 long tables I had not considered.

On the tables was a large sheet, covering the contents that laid on the table. Each boss room had been different, but had not been a significant part of the fight, I had expected this one to be the same. It was smaller, and very clearly the goblins' home, however only as the sheet began to rise did I realise my disadvantage. I was fighting on the shaman's 'home turf' and this would not be easy.

Eventually the sheets were flung off to reveal 2 corpses, now animated and ready to attack.

[Hobgoblin Zombie]

[Once an honourable warrior of his tribe, now a mere tool for his master]

"Fuck, Abby what is a shaman exactly." I said, preparing a stance fit for evasion so that I could avoid being hit by the zombie.

"Shamans are basically the scammer of the dark arts." Abby said dismissively, clearly not as worried as I was, "They aren't especially outstanding in any one field but can do a lot of things to an average level. Ah, but don't worry you won't become a zombie if you get bit or anything."

The last part covered my main concern and I became a little more relaxed. The shaman had been chuckling and speaking the entire time, but I had ignored it as I did not understand the goblin language, but now it had said something that looked like an order and the 2 zombies charged at me.

"The best way to kill a low level necromancer is to finish off the summoner, the zombies will drop dead after that." Abby advised me, but added something onto the end, "Fully dead I mean."

I understood but I was already at a disadvantage here. The arena was much smaller than normal, it was 3 against one and the boss had a decently powerful shield. I decided the best way to win would be for me to be quick but I also wanted the talents, I didn't want to run the risk of losing the boss's talent.

I could have used body strengthening to wiz straight through, but the room was so small I risked injuring myself, more than that the barrier would certainly shatter and allow me to cut right through the boss, instantly killing it. I ducked under the frenzied claw of the first zombie and it ripped through part of the wall, allowing me to see the goblin village outside. I went to attack it but the second zombie appeared at that moment.

Instead I stayed at my lower position, and while the first Z was slightly stuck in the wall I swiped my leg under him, causing the Z2 to fall to the ground. At that moment I pushed him down and copied his talent. Again though, I made a mistake as this blinded me to the shaman's attack, I attempted to jump away but the black mist it had shot at me ran through my side.

I stepped away from the situation, trying to find  what was wrong when I suddenly felt it, followed by a system notification following the notification of the talent I had copied:

[Pain Resist (0/1)]

[Increases resistance to pain]

[Warning: User has been cursed]

[Curse of Nausea]

My body felt heavy and I stepped unsteadily, I felt as though my head was banging and the room shook as I looked around, as I tried to hold back my vomit I was knocked to the ground as Z1 had pulled itself from the wall, my back was bleeding but thankfully it hurt less than it likely should have.

I managed to reclaim my senses slightly and rolled away from the next attack but now both zombies were after me and I had to watch for any further magic attacks.

This was becoming increasingly difficult, but I managed to take out one of the zombies as I accidently avoided its attack, which then gave the opportunity for me to sever its head from its body. The nausea had assisted me and I took pleasure in listening to the wrathful shouts of the shaman behind me as Z1 fell to the ground, fully dead, as Abby put it.

Thankfully, the zombies were not intelligent as it took only a few minutes before I had killed the next one. The shaman had now begun firing damaging magic at me, likely a 'second phase', and due to his curse I could not easily dodge it so I had taken even more wounds and felt even more blood come rushing from me.

Thankfully, it was nothing more than superficial damage, but nevertheless it still hurt slightly. In better news it did upgrade [Pain Resistance] that was later added to my [Exalted Physique] talent.

As the second zombie fell to the ground, headless, I turned to face the final enemy. I was still feeling the ripple of sickness from the curse but had gotten better used to it and could now function properly.

"How long is this curse going to last..." I sighed, mostly to myself.

"Curses last until the curse caster dispels them." Abby said, making my sensitive ears ring and my heart beat in worry. She quickly added further information to soothe me, "But they can also be removed with purification or killing the caster."

I let out a sigh of relief and took a step towards the shaman, dodging a bolt of black energy that flew by my ear.

The shaman let out a horrible shriek, then began chanting in a language that did not sound similar to the one it had spoken before. I quickly used body strengthening to shatter its barrier but was too late as I was knocked back by a strong wind.

When I looked up again the shaman was much different.

"It had to have a phase three, didn't it" I sighed. rising again.

The shaman's eyes had rolled back and now behind it stood the phantasmal figure of a large goblin. It had many scars and tribal tattoos covering its body and as it locked eyes with me it frowned and the shaman began moving at a pace faster than its decrepit body should have been able to.

It swung its staff and I stepped back to evade, the wooden club smashed into the shelf next to it and shattered the bottles that were on it. Ah, I thought, it’s an idiot.

The goblin possessing the shaman clearly had no strategy and merely swung the staff around trying to clobber me. Normally, I could have finished this in a moment but now I was cursed and struggled to move at even half my regular speed, not to mention I wanted whatever talent this thing had.

Luckily, despite my instability and the shaman's power up, my foe was still just a goblin; and a stupid one at that. As it swung yet again, I ducked down, and just like Z2 I knocked him to the ground, shoving his head into the floor of the hut. The goblin struggled, and with a single hand keeping him down was not easy but soon the talent was copied and the moment it was, the palm of my hand was covered in the horns of the horned rabbits. With a pierced brain, the shaman died, leaving a treasure chest in the centre of the room and me with the talent:

[Poor Man's Witch Doctor (0/2)]

[Grants knowledge of plants, poisons and medicine]

It seemed to be quite useful, as I read the talent the shaman became its drops; causing me to fall slightly as the body I was propped up on disappeared. I had not stayed to see the gatekeeper's drops and was surprised to see the gnarled wooden staff among the drops. I also acquired an eye and a magic crystal. Before appraising them I looked in the chest, taking the time to realise that the chests on each floor had been slightly different.

While the 2nd and 1st were mostly similar, other than some colour difference, the 3rd and 4th were vastly different. The 3rd chest was a dirt wooden crate while the 4th was much closer to a cabinet, opening from the side instead of the top.

Inside were 3 bottles of red liquid, I grabbed them and with the staff in hand left the 4th floor, still bleeding but no longer cursed.