Jay landed, driving his dagger into the space Jett’s head had occupied moments before. The man had moved back with an explosion of Spirit, propelling himself away from the attack.
“Ooohoho!” the man roared, vibrating with excitement. “So, you are the one I was looking for! Excellent!”
Jay winced as the pain in his leg radiated with ferocity at his quick movement. He still didn’t exactly know how the man had pierced his armor, but it was a good reminder that the coating didn’t make him invincible. Pushing more energy into his leg and performing his healing skill slightly lessened the pain, but not by much. He didn’t have time to worry about that, however, as Jett once again rushed forward.
Jay fired the last shot in his revolver, but the man didn’t even flinch, dodging the projectile with superhuman speed and continuing on his collision course. Jay cursed and flipped his pistol around. He would have liked to dump the casings clogging the weapon out and begin using Spirit to reload it, but he didn’t have enough time for that. Jett finished closing the gap less than a second later and swung with an exaggerated left hook, allowing Jay plenty of time to dodge. The attacks kept coming. Jay was forced backward as the flurry of blows began to increase in speed and become less predictable with every strike. He tried to lash out with his dagger, but the weapon harmlessly slid off the man’s gauntlet as he moved it to protect himself and continued the onslaught.
Jay’s body screamed, and he was finally unable to fully dodge each strike. One caught him on the arm. Then, the shoulder. He continued backing up, but bumped into the wall of his apartment building, stopping his retreat. His eyes went wide as his timing was thrown off, and a brass-gauntleted fist descended directly towards his face. He had lost.
His heart thumped. As his mind tried to accept that he was going to lose this friendly duel--which, in all honesty, meant nothing--his hand moved on its own. His revolver clattered to the ground, and Spirit began radiating off of him in a dense white fog. The collision came less than a second later. Jay smiled as he held the brass fist still in the palm of his right hand. Jett’s eyes went wide, and he seized the moment for just a second before exploding into motion.
He pulled Jett in closer and, with a rapid motion, drove his dagger towards the man’s jugular. Jett grunted and rolled his shoulder as much as he could while still in Jay’s grasp. It was just enough, and the attack meant to end the fight instead left a small cut on the man’s neck. He beamed deviously and jumped back, releasing the gauntlet Jay had caught.
“Holy shit. That’s my fucking man!” Jett yelled as he laughed with wide eyes, staring at Jay.
The cloud of Spirit disappeared, and Jay dropped the gauntlet to the ground.
Spirit: 472/1000
He had used too much to stop the attack. A part of him wanted to just forfeit. He had blocked the notifications out for now, causing them to neatly form a pile at the edge of his vision. Just small enough that he could see it, but it wasn’t in the way. His level gains had been great so far, and he could just cut his losses and save the remaining amount of his energy.
Fuck that.
He pushed those thoughts from his mind. He didn’t care if he drained himself enough to have to sleep for the next week. This fight was his to win. He moved, preparing to charge at Jett once more despite his leg’s protests, when he once again found himself in a familiar white void.
His mind swam for a moment as images of that crying little girl shaking her parents’ corpses in the back of his limo crawled their way out of whatever repressed hole he had shoved them into. Luckily, a screen appeared, and that same robotic voice began speaking in his mind.
**Planet tier increased: G - F**
“Congratulations, the minimum requirements for Earth to reach the next tier have been met. The first earthling has reached Level 15! With this ascension comes a new opportunity. Dungeons will now form in this world. With this announcement, any candidates will now be able to ask their assistants about dungeons. As for any unremarkable souls still alive at the time of this announcement, while it is advised that you don’t enter a combat dungeon. If by some miracle you make it out alive, you will receive a candidate status. As a final bonus for this momentous occasion, three menus will be randomly unlocked for this planet. Good luck.”
The voice faded, and Jay flashed back to reality where he was once again standing in front of Jett. The man’s eyes flickered for a few moments before he focused on Jay once more, frowning.
“Sorry about this, but it seems my playtime has run out. Looks like I’m gonna have to forfeit–
“Don’t you dare!” Jay yelled. “This was just starting to get fun.”
Jett seemed startled by the sudden outburst, but a smile once again widened on his face. “Oh, I know, but if I can catch Isabella before I reach Level 15, she might finally agree to spar with me.”
“What?” Jay asked, furrowing his eyebrows.
“Eh, this librarian is currently in first place on the leaderboard. She’s got this awesome magic that I want to feel for myself, but she flat-out refuses to duel me every time I ask.”
“So, why would that change now?”
“Well, 15 is supposed to be some big power boost, right? So, maybe she will finally be confident enough to take me on!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure.”
Jett shrugged. “It’s worth a shot. Anyway, I forgot for now, but you're welcome to come with me if you wanna continue this after.”
**Duel Complete! Result: You have been declared the winner - New Title Received**
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Jay smiled, pushing the notification away. He would read it and the others later. “Sure. I’m gonna enjoy beating you fairly next time.”
“Ha! You're welcome to try. Come on,” Jett said with a wave.
The gauntlets once again disappeared as he turned and began walking down the street. Jay jogged, catching up to the man and following close behind him.
“Sooo, you’re that obsessed with winning, huh?” Lan asked.
Jay sent her a mental shrug. Not sure. It just felt wrong to lose, you know?
“I don’t, but you're making a good amount of progress, so I won't complain. Oh, also, I would recommend you go through those notifications while you walk. Some of them are important.”
Jay sent a mental nod, but waited a few moments before doing so. He wanted to see if Jett would try to strike up a conversation. Still, seeing the man’s eyes wander back and forward, likely investigating his own notifications, Jay started to go through the pile.
**Skill level increased: Pain Tolerance 8 - 9**
**Skill level increased: Endurance 3 - 4**
**Skill level increased: Firearm Mastery 1 - 2**
**Skill level increased: Basic Spirit Armor 9 - 10**
**Skill level increased: Misdirection 3 - 4**
**Skill level increased: Regeneration Boost 1 - 4**
**Experience threshold reached: Level 10 - 11**
**Skill level increased: Basic Blade Combat 1 - 2**
**Skill level increased: Unarmed Combat 7 - 8**
**Skill level increased: Basic Spirit Empowerment 10 - 11**
**Duel complete. Result: You have been declared the winner - New title received**
**Menu Unlocked: World Quest**
**Menu Unlocked: Titles**
**Menu Unlocked: World Store**
Uhh, Lan, what do those last three mean?
A sigh came through their link. “Did you not listen to the announcement?”
I did, but--
“Great, then you should remember the part where everyone would get three new menus.”
Well, yeah, but I think you missed the part where I don’t know what the fuck that means.
“Hmmm. I would have thought it would be obvious, but here. I'll give you a brief rundown. Titles should be self-explanatory. World Quests are quests that need to be completed in order to cause the world to tier-up again, but they could also include things like slaying a faction leader or a beast before you natives lose control of the planet. The World Store is probably the best thing. It will let you sell items for World Credits, which can be exchanged for other items. Both listed by other candidates and provided by the system itself. Questions?”
Not yet. Let me take a look at the screens first.
Titles:
[Candidate], [Winner of a duel - 1]
Huh. Do these titles do anything?
“Some do. Click on one of them, and a description should pop up.”
**Candidate: Congratulations, you are a candidate in the 76th Death March!**
**Winner of a duel - 1: You have won a system-enforced duel!**
So they tell me something I already knew? How useful…
“The ones you have, yes. Most titles you get will probably be along that sort of line, but some of them will give stat or skill boosts. As a general rule, the harder a title is to gain, the stronger it will be.”
Interesting.
World Quests:
World Tier: F
Quests available: 4
Quest - Defeat a level 24 dungeon:
Time limit: N/A
Requirements: An earthborn candidate must clear a Level 24 dungeon
Quest - Defeat an invading faction:
Time limit: N/A
Requirements: An earthborn candidate must force an invading faction off the world or eradicate them completely
Quest - Reach Level 25:
Time limit: N/A
Requirements: An earthborn candidate must reach Level 25
Quest - Small Faction Leader:
Time limit: N/A
Requirements: An earthborn candidate must form and maintain a faction with at least 200,000 members
That seems simple enough, he thought before opening the last menu.
A panel containing a list of items ranging from plain utensils to heavily-enchanted armor and weapons opened before him. There was a search bar and several options to categorize the items. He scrolled through the list for a moment, and almost burst out laughing when he clicked on the tab labeled Misc. Several lines of what was essentially trash populated the page, all selling for a single World Credit.
So, we really can sell anything, huh?
“Mhm,” Lan responded.
Jay was trying to think of some joke about a spoiled carton of milk costing the same amount as a new pair of dress shoes when Jett stopped dead in his tracks, pulling him from his thoughts.
“What the fuck?” Jett muttered.
Jay furrowed his eyebrows, but followed where the man was looking. His mouth dropped. The corner of a nearby building was completely missing. Not like it had been destroyed, but as if it had been plucked from space without affecting the structural integrity of the five-story building. A staircase leading deep into the ground, lit by simple torches, filled the space below the missing part of the building.
“How?” was all Jay could say.
“Ooo, a dungeon! Go check its level,” Lan said.
“A dungeon?” Jay muttered.
Jett nodded, his mouth still open as he approached the hole in the ground. As they got closer, a notification popped up.
**Warning: you are approaching a Level 15 dungeon. It is not recommended to take on dungeons higher than your level without entering a party first.**
“That’s a good find. You're gonna have to come back once you level up.”
Uhh, Lan, what does entering a dungeon entail? And are you sure I shouldn’t make a party?
“Oh, they are like big mazes filled with monsters and treasures. Some of them might have a story or scenario to them, but most will follow the maze archetype. And while there are merits to teaming up, no. Stay solo for now. While you would technically have more opportunities open to you, the rewards are always far greater if you are solo.”
And you're sure?
“Yes, Jay. Have I led you wrong yet?”
I don’t know enough to say whether you have or not. But I'm not dead, and I don’t feel like I’m just existing anymore. So, no. As far as I am concerned, you haven't.
“Good. While I would recommend you go power-level your class skills in any way you can, I know you're not gonna feel good about giving up on this rematch. Go have your fun, then. Focus on your class skills, and when you’re done, go hit Level 15 and jump into every dungeon you come across.”
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ALMS | william wallace | Amscore
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