Chapter 19 (1/2)

The dungeon boss, a Poisonous Salamander, oddly reminiscent of one of the first creatures that Randidly had encountered, lay dead behind them. A glowing yellow portal floated before Randidly.

7 Months had passed since Randidly had started training under Shal. The end part of the plains had been a grind, pushing through increasing numbers of Elite Guards and Shamans, and then the Orc Chieftain had left them stumped for a month before Shal gained two levels and worked on his skills, finally allowing him to take on several of the guards at once.

Beyond were the swamps, filled with frogs and pythons, where Randidly had finished the Mana Bolt and Physical Fitness paths, earning him the skills Arcane Orb and Haste.

The Arcane Orb was finally a powerful attack spell, and Haste doubled normal stamina consumption to slightly increase speed. Combined with his resistances, Randidly led the way through the swamp, slowly wandering through, taking another 3 months.

But the final month and a half was repeated attempts at the boss Salamander.

Randidly had gained a lot of skill levels, improving himself, and methodically completing the paths available to him. But what was more delightful was that Green Spear Mastery. Every 5 levels, he would gain something, on a 20 point rotation. First was 5 mana, then a point in Vitality, then 5 stamina, then two freely distributable stats.

Still, even then, against that final boss, he was nothing but a meat shield for Shal, rapidly mopping up...

Randidly shook his head. No point in thinking of that now. He turned to Shal, feeling strangely reluctant. “Thank you for everything. You allowed me to collect all the plant samples and rare crafting materials, and you taught me how to protect myself. If it wasn’t for you, I…”

“It was nothing. It is every spear user’s duty to tell the tale of the spearman,” Shal said simply. Then he cocked his head. “Why do you hesitate now? You are free. Did you not worry for your friends?”

Randidly pictured Sydney and Ace, but only smiled ruefully, shaking his head. “It has been more than 7 months. If they still live, a few more minutes….:”

“Ah,” Shal said, patting his shoulder, as he did when he noticed something. “This makes sense. I was foolish, and didn’t connect the dots. Of course you would not know. Time in Dungeons is strange. It is accelerated, so it is almost impossible for one to find an emptied dungeon when entering it, and impossible to enter at the same time as someone else. I believe they are… roughly 1000x faster than normal speed. The time that occurred outside is but a fraction of what you experienced here.”

Randidly’s jaw dropped. Then, with his now much higher intelligence, he began doing some mental math.

“...some of the days are long, but if it really is around 7 months….Only…. 5 hours has passed in the outside….?”

For several seconds, Randidly just stared at the ground. Then he leapt through the portal without a backwards glance.

Shal laughed at his disciple’s impulsive actions, then tensed up, before looking at the portal with a guilty glance. “Ah, I should have told him about the system…”

“Well, it is no matter.” Shal concluded, his eyes burning as he looked at the portal. “He has a spear. The problems will sort themselves out.”

****

With a slight feeling of nausea, Randidly found himself standing on a road.

The first thing he noticed was the noise. Car alarms were blaring, and he could hear screams from several directions around him. Below that, a lower hum, was the sound of mechanical engines and the roars of beasts.

Then he felt the heat, and he turned to find the building behind him was consumed by flames.

Randidly’s mouth formed a grim line. It seemed like the system’s arrival had hit hard outside of the dungeons too. Then he noticed a series of notifications that popped up.

You are currently within an area of Newbie Zone in side of Earth’s Zone 32! Original geography within this Zone 32 has been scrambled. Within the Newbie Zone, only monsters under level 20 will appear. To survive, slay rare monsters to obtain golden coins, which can be used to found a “Newbie Village”. At the Newbie Village, you can obtain a class, which will allow you to grow and obtain power!