22 Family meeting (1/2)

The gears of change had begun to turn more quickly with each passing day. Dustin had finished recovering from his mana drain just as the news was starting to pick up around dungeons. The previous leaks he had seen all over the internet had made their way to the television.

'US Military complete dungeon'

Dustin was glad that the event occurred earlier than expected, but he was also worried. Even if humanity grew accustomed to dungeons quicker, he needed to change public perception of them. If countries kept their dungeons under tight control for fear of losing military strength, then the Torians were just going to roll over them, albeit a little slower than they had last time.

If Dustin wanted regular civilians to grow an interest, he needed to reveal what the governments would be hiding.

One could grow stronger, faster, and smarter, from the dungeons.

More importantly, one could grow richer. If the appeal of strength and power wasn't enough to draw a crowd, then greed would pick up the slack. Earth currency was already beginning to crash, as each person could turn all of their Dos into close to a million dollars.

Dustin knew that Dos would be the main currency used in the future, and had no plans to convert the very thing that dictated his survival into useless paper. James had recently gotten back to him giving the thumbs up on a warehouse Dustin could use. The location was about an hour and a half drive away, secluded enough that Dustin didn't need to worry about wandering eyes.

With the Dos earned from his recent encounters, Dustin had picked up another weapon from the shop that had been on sale, and one more spell.

[Uncommon Enchanted Oak Spellbow]

60/60 Durability

15.0 - 17.0 Arcane Damage

+3 Agility

A bow made from the branches of an oak tree born from mana. Has runes engraved on the exterior.

Enchanted: Spells cast using the bow deal 20% additional damage.

[Spell: Echo Arrow]

After firing an arrow, summon two copies of it that will automatically fire at the same target, dealing 25% less damage.

Use: 50 Mana.

Dustin regained part of his former glory, a bow slung over his shoulder, quiver by his side, and a metal staff in one hand. The spellbow was an alternative to normal bows that dealt no physical damage, but arcane instead. It had the look of a regular wooden bow, but was augmented by a light pink hue that radiated from a series of engravings carved from top to bottom. They were done in a language unknown to most, though Dustin had gradually learnt what they meant over the years.

'Yearning'

To most, the engravings seemed to have no relevance to what the item actually performed. Only when one compared tens to hundreds of items, did the pattern become clear. Items that lended a hand towards magical means, often featured words related to the pursuit of knowledge. Those that aided strength, were of a meditative sort.

In the case of the spellbow Dustin had slung over his shoulder, it was geared towards boosting his magical damage, giving it a different damage modifier. Arcane.

Arcane damage dealt extra damage to Mana Shield and could ignore damage reductions from anything except resistance, but dealt reduced damage to health. When mana shield was depleted, it would sap the mana from a target instead, weakening them in a different way.

In a game of attrition, the spellbow was actually a better choice than a regular bow. Dustin had no problems with dealing damage, it was weakening targets to protect himself that was now a higher concern.

Mana shield wasn't a major concern when clearing dungeons, as most monsters did not possess any. Only higher tier enemies would have it, and even then, it wasn't enough to make them immortal. What concerned Dustin more was the danger that came from within.

Greed was a powerful motivator, but it was still a dark emotion nonetheless. Many people were killed by others for their equipment, Dos, or just for pleasure. Mana shield was the most popular defense among pioneers as it could absorb damage. Unlike other defensive options, it didn't hurt when mana shield blocked the damage.

Dustin had lost Ben in the past for the same reasons. He had purchased a fancy piece of equipment and was murdered for it, giving him no chance to even defend himself. Sacrifices had to be made, and Dustin wasn't going to stick to ideals of mercy or forgiveness. If someone stepped out of line, there was no time to give them second chances.

He stretched the string of the bow spellbow, feeling a familiar resistance. The arrows he purchased were made from an alien material, but provided suitable damage. Stronger spellbows could use special arrows, which enhanced the arcane damage, but were unusable by regular bows.

A knock on his bedroom door caught him by surprise, and he hurriedly hid the bow and arrows away in his inventory, ignoring the flashing warning that it had filled up.

”Come in!” He shouted.

A woman Dustin hadn't seen in a while tentatively opened the door, giving him a worried smile as she waved.

”Hey Dustin! Sorry I wasn't able to drop by earlier. I saw your face on TV yesterday, just what have you been up to?”

Dustin froze as his step-sister Alicia entered the room. The last time he had seen her flowing brown hair was when it cascaded down his arm, holding her head in his hands as she bled out from the hole in her stomach.

He was a little stiff when she hugged him, but eventually the dark emotions flooded out, and he restrained himself from crying to hug her tightly.

”Good to see you sis.”

Alicia pulled back and smiled brightly, filling Dustin with a light and airy feeling. Something he had been lacking for a while.

Hope.

”Good to see you too Dustin. Now please tell me what happened at uni, the news has been calling you a hero!”

---------------

Dustin, Alicia, and their mother, Jean, sat around in the living room sipping tea as they chatted away casually. The news story that had covered Dustin's 'heroic feat' was playing on the TV, recorded by Jean.

The story chosen to cover up the dungeon incident was that two unknown attackers held a grudge against the university, wishing to harm one of the lecturers there in retaliation for their bad grades. Dustin had defended her, and the other students, scaring them off with his prop sword.

The two attackers were, of course, completely fabricated. Dustin had been contacted previously with a contract to not reveal the details of what actually occurred, but the 'story' everyone else heard he had yet to see.

He refused to answer most of their questions, as the police had forced him to stay silent about the whole affair. They were unhappy at being rejected, but couldn't complain about the legality of the situation.

Jean and Alicia were both proud, and worried, for Dustin. Jean had seen her son going through rapid changes the past two weeks, seeing him coming home late some nights, after being missing for a couple of days. His body and face seemed to change as well, as he grew leaner and taller. He no longer focused on his studies, but seemed to have some other direction in mind.

His mother could only hope that it wasn't one that lead down a dark path. Dustin had no complaints when she had asked him to stay home for a couple of days and rest as he had slept for over fourteen hours. His mana recovery was still in progress, leaving him little choice in the matter.

Alicia turned the conversation towards Dos.