The Arcade Series

I closed up the rather empty shop once the system screen told me it was closing time. Predictably, nobody had shown up after Terance and his group had run off, leaving me to start thinking on my own while I thought I couldn't do anything useful.

Seeing Terance was a small break, and a huge reminder to me. There were people here, and they were apparently in danger. I needed to put in the work if I was going to try to save people like Terance and his friends. The VR chair and getting some Artifacts out was a good start at building up the power of the people that lived here, but besides advertising by word of mouth and my window flyers that I had put up in my own shops windows, there wasn't much I could do in that end. Especially when I was basically a worm compared to higher leveled people if fantasy was anything to go by.

I needed to learn to fight with my new gifts, and so that is what I spent my time thinking about.

I fought in world war three, and in the literal depths of the underworld against monsters. I just needed to apply my experience to something a little newer. Magic was a prime tool, and probably indispensable for me as it is now, and alongside my… sort of hand to hand combat that I did as a spirit, I could be formidable once I learned to combine those experiences.

Then there was the dungeon core, a tier four Artifact with a lot of abilities that I don't know how to even use effectively to do really anything yet, and definitely not in the middle of a fight. But I have had a lot of time to myself during the day in particular, tending to customers that don't exist, and so I have thought of pretty much every angle to my problems to find a solution that I could work with.

First off is the problem with the dungeon core. Really the only thing I need to learn to use it effectively, is to use its abilities while I fight something. This is more of an experience problem, so I just need practice at it and I can learn to use the core without any problems. Of course it is a really simple solution, but that is usually what works best in my experience.

As for the problem with learning to physically fight effectively with my new body in actual close quarters combat, the solution was very similar and it definitely needed practice again. But a weapon would be the best thing to have first and foremost. I was not trusting my physical body to pull off the stunts and power that my spirit could pull to bear after absorbing some of the monsters in hell. If I could get a sturdy weapon in my hands, then I could start applying myself more into the physical type of fights rather than tossing fire around.

For that strategy to work effectively though, I needed a weapon and I had no ideas where I could get one.

Then came fighting with magic. That was probably the simplest, especially because I actually fought in the dungeon using basically just my magic already. It was mostly a ranged class to an extent, and I basically just needed to work on increasing the amount of things I could do in a fight. So it needed thinking about, then testing and eventually practice before actually using it effectively in a fight.

Then came combining all my abilities into one fighting style. That was a tricky one, as I actually needed to learn all my different abilities and use them separately, then I think I needed to just try to mix them up when fighting. Go in for a punch or a stab, then hit them with a wall of wind. Fire a fireball and sink whoever I was fighting into the ground with my dungeon core so they couldn't dodge. The applications were huge.

But the simple things needed the backing of experience that I didn't have, so I needed to hold off on that.

Time and practice was all that was holding me back, and time was what I was short on.

So the only thing that I really needed to do was make the best of the time I had and hope that it would be good enough. So I made a schedule. I didn't have a calendar to know what day it was, or any way to know what time it was however so I had to keep it simple.

During the first day of training, I would study the uses of the dungeon core's abilities and try to come up with ways that I could use it during a fight. The next night I would go into the dungeon and use only the dungeon core's abilities to fight some monsters to get some experience. Then the next morning I would try to come up with spells that I could use to fight with or use. That night I would go into the dungeon and fight with only magic.

But that is where my schedule ended, because to practice physical fighting I needed a weapon to get started. Until I realized that there was another way to train that would be very useful even if I don't get exactly what I needed. Arcade games to get Artifacts. There was a good chance that whatever I got would be useful to me, and on the off chance it wasn't I could give it away to help strengthen the militia that Terance was a part of at a huge discount to get more influence and possibly more customers during the day.

So on the third day I decided that I would just play video games after work hours like I normally did, and in the day I would continue my spell work. It was the only reasonable use of my time really.

And so I started immediately after I had worked out my schedule, sitting behind the counter eating some pizza and other junk food, I started to read the details of the abilities of the Dungeon Core one by one.

Primitive consciousness: This dungeon core has an artificial mind designed to obey verbal and mental directions from a linked user

Combat applications of what amounted to an AI in a dungeon core… well there were quite a few if someone understood what it could do, which I only had the briefest glimpse at. But I needed to do some testing with this, to answer questions like ‘Just how much can it even do?’ or ‘How would it respond to trying to give it standing directions while I actively use its abilities?’

The next possible combat usable ability was material manipulation.

Mater manipulation: Within the domain of the dungeon core it has the ability to shape physical materials with an expenditure of mana

I have had some experience using this ability, just cleaning up wrappers and things from before while I still had customers. It let me change the shape of almost any physical material, whether it be the floor or a simple rock. The most obvious applications for the ability was to try to form traps like pitfalls or spikes made of rock, but I could think of a few more. Like trying to change how a material acts, like solid to liquid. Though I wasn't sure about that one, because the description didn't mention that.

Then came mana control. Personally, I considered spells to be magic training, so I wasn't sure if I should try to use spells with the dungeon core training or not at first, but I tentatively decided that I would try to use purely the more ‘Dungeon Core’ specific abilities and leave mana control to mage training. When I would use the dungeon core's mana abilities… hang on, that sounds like I am still combining my fighting styles and abilities despite what I said… Whatever. The mind split and dungeon senses alone are too useful to not use when doing any type of fighting, so I am just going to ignore what I said before.

I will just be using my dungeon core to bring all my training together anyways, a thought process for spells, a thought process for physical fighting, and a mind for basically support with the dungeon core. It would probably work when I try it out.

But I am sticking to my individual training plan until I think I am ready, just a little more combined than I had thought before…

Moving back on track however, that is all the dungeon abilities that make sense to be used during a pure dungeon fight without using mage stuff. Practice was what I needed now, testing my limits and putting them into a fight. As for my combat style, I would need to really rely on traps and working out of range while I manipulated different things and watched out with the dungeon senses while I tried to figure out what the dungeon could do with some instructions instead of micromanaging.

That is what I settled on when the time came that I was closing up the shop, heading outside to get to the dungeon for some training.

‘Now that I think about it, I should also be trying to delve into the dungeon for levels now too… I nearly forgot about that.’ I thought idly as I walked down the path that I had taken to the dungeon the first time I had tried to delve into it and running combat scenarios through my head while I still had time. I had to lean on trap making, so it wasn't too hard.

I knew what to expect from the dungeon this time, and so I reached the large stone building in the center of the square quickly and entered into the entrance hall even quicker. But I didn't move on yet. I needed to test some theories before I could move onto the hunt.

Dire Rat P.O.V.

I scurried across the stone floor with the grace that fit my level. I was level five, and I was a mighty rat. The other rats couldn't help but bow before my might as I passed through my home, even now my minions watched my wearily. I had been declared as the boss by the Holy Creator, and I was going to put my weak, smaller minion rats in their place. I gave a hiss and I stood tall in the center of where I was told to guard against the delvers by the Holy Creator! I would fight and kill all of the shiny two legged creatures that I knew were coming and they would bow before my might!

I heard a clatter that caused me to break out of the thoughts of my might, and I turned to the sound quickly, and whatever the other weak rats might have thought I was not scared at all. Nope.

But I was relieved when I saw a weak, shivering little rat enter my territory. Then I was angry and I approached the stupid beast that had entered into my territory! I squeaked and together me and my weak minions dashed to the terrified smaller, weaker rat that stumbled into my territory. That's right! Fear me! Fear the power of a fully grown LEVEL FIVE DIRE RAT!

Me and my smaller minions dove towards the stupid rat and we started tearing into the lesser rat with glee! Blood started to pore and we were covered with the tilth of this stupid thing that calls itself a rat. We didn't stop until we ensured that the mess of blood and fur that was the rat was dead. The weak deserved to die in this dungeon! They must die by the hands of the great and powerful- Why was the floor taller than me?

I was confused, the floor was floor, it stayed on the ground. Why was it moving up? Where was the light going? I squeaked a challenge to the floor, that suddenly moved around us, but it didn't stop until all the light was gone. I heard the cries of the lesser rats as they realized the floor's treachery and I joined with my own! I scratched at the stone around me, and the scurrying mass of body’s crowded around me, my minions would not touch me!

Then in the darkness, I felt a cold feeling and I let out a yelp of pain as something entered deep into my side! My pain started to cause everything to start to fade as I tried to get the thing in my side out, but it was no use… Everything was going black… Curse you, you treacherous floor!

Leonard P.O.V.

I gave a sigh as I watched the small bubble of stone form sink back into the ground, and give the huge rats a burial. They always fall for the bait…