Chapter 28: Ruins of the Bandit Lord Husk II

I got to spend some time with mom and dad last night and we got to hang out just the 3 of us. I went to bed after that. Now that its morning I can hop back on and check out these old ruins. I get into my gaming pod and load into Ancients World. I wake up in the tent I fell asleep in, the sun is just starting to rise over the mountains to the east. I wonder what other continents are going through, there are billions of players and multiple continents along with vast oceans that separate the players.

It takes a ship or a working teleporter to get to new continents. People wont start migrating to different continents till there tier 2 level up quests. That is a long way down the road and nobody other than me knows the secrets of the tiering up system. I pull out my map and see how close I am to these ruins, looking at the landmarks and coordinates I am about an hours walk from the place. I pack up all my gear and make my way to the old ruins.

I should check out my stats so I can prepare combat tactic's. I think to open my player stat tab and it pops open in front of me.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.19]

[Exp: 7180/21,000]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden),+1 more]

[Stats]

[Strength - 850]

[Endurance - 800]

[Dexterity - 805]

[Speed - 800]

[Focus - 800]

[Mana: 8000/8000]

[Health: 6,600/6,600]

[Stat Points: 120]

[Armor rating: 475]

[Inventory]

[Skills/Perks]

[Inheritor of the sword (Passive) - Son of Heaven (Passive) - Heavens light Lvl.3 150/300 (Active) - Protected by Heaven Lvl.3 25/400 (Active) - Slash Lvl.8 500/800 (Active) Slayer of Evil (Passive) - Holy Willow Trees savior (Passive) - Parry Lvl.1 80/100 (Active) - Finder of Legends (Passive) - The divine who has legend (Passive) - Destined for Greatness (Passive)]

That perk Destined for Greatness sure brought my combat power up. I open my inventory so I can calculate my new damage numbers with my swords.

[Inventory]

[10x water rations]

[5x food rations]

[Silver sword req. Lvl.10]

[Quality: Uncommon]

[Damage: 500]

[Durability: 250/250]

[Dead's Bane req. Lvl.10]

[Damage: 650]

[Quality: Rare]

[Durability: 250/250]

[Unique effect: Twice as effective on undead]

[Complete Dungeon armor set: Hardened Sap]

Since I am dual wielding now I can combine the damage of the 2 swords together. 1,150 is the combined damage for the 2 swords. Add the 8,500 flat damage from my strength stat and I get 9,650. Now all I have to do is multiply the new total damage by 2 since I am dual wielding, doubling my total damage. My new total damage without using skills is 19,300, I cant stop myself from smiling when thinking about the new calculations.

I cant wait to test out my skills on stronger enemies now. I turn off my interface and continue to the ruins on the map. After about 50 minutes of walking I make it to the vast gates of the ruins. There are no indications of a military presence here and I can feel some monsters inside. I put my hand on the door and I get a system notification.

[You are about to enter a solo dungeon]

[You can only enter alone]

[Do you wish to enter the dungeon: The ruins of bandit Lord Husk? Y/N]

So this is actually a dungeon, and a solo one at that. Solo dungeons are rare because most places have high concentrations of powerful enemies, if you come across a solo dungeon it usually indicates a one sided battle filled with traps and tricks. It is meant to be a way to kill players period. You really aren't meant to complete it, just die a bunch of times till you learn all the traps and can avoid them.

I think yes and the massive gates open. I walk into the courtyard and I can see remnants of a society and a community. Now its just empty and worn down old buildings. I walk the path for awhile and I come across a group of mobs, all of them are strong enemies and haven't noticed me yet. I inspect one of them since I cant really make out what they are. They really surprise me because they don't belong in a place like this.

[Ghoulish Abomination Lvl.15 Strong]

25,000/25,000 HP

Ghoulish Abomination? These are only found when a necromancer is playing god and doing a bad job. They have no thoughts and are impossible to control, they are usually killed by the necromancer once they are deemed failures. The fact that they are alive is suspicious, a necromancer never leaves traces of his or her existence if possible. This is also the ruins of a bandit lord, not a necromancer. This whole thing reeks of a trap. No point in risking this for such weak and more than likely trap filled enemies.

I sneak away and go down a different path, after some walking I feel powerful magic coming from a building up ahead. I reach it and walk up to the door, I place my ear against it. I listen for the sounds of an enemy, I hear nothing. The power I sense coming from the inside is also moving and fluctuating, this is common place in solo dungeons. If an old magic trap hasn't been set off in a very long time it will start to destabilize. I think this is exactly what is happening here, if I open this door I will be killed.

I leave the door to the building and continue down the courtyard. I am met by a crossroads, one goes to an old Greek looking temple. The other path leads to what seems to be an armory. There is probably a boss to this place and if I was a betting man it would be in the temple, but this is a solo dungeon and you have to think like a trapper would. The armory and the temple are no go's, they are more than likely filled with traps and tricks. Since I am at a crossroads and I don't intend to go forward I turn back the way I came.

After making it half way back I notice a path that wasn't there when I walked by earlier, typical of a solo dungeon. This little trick has killed many players in solo dungeons before, even me when I was a higher level in the future. I look down the new path and see a little building, why would such a small building be hidden from everyone. I didn't have to do anything special to open the path either, no key, no password, nothing to open it except walk back. This is a trap too so I am passing on this. I make it back to the entrance of the dungeon and check the adjacent part of the courtyard.

This path is identical to the last one, except the first building doesn't have a trap from the feeling of it. I make my way to the door and listen for any movement, I hear nothing and I feel nothing so I push the door open and I am greeted by a room filled with pristine books and scrolls. I am not going to touch anything, this place is not magical in origin like the dryads. So there is no way that all this stuff would look this good after such a long time. I ignore this room and head into the back, after looking at the empty room I can see an old key on a table. I inspect it from a distance incase its another trap.

[Key to the main chamber]

Main chamber to what? After I inspected the key a map materializes on the wall. It is a map of the ruins and where everything is located. I look for the main chamber and all I see is a pathway to hole in the side of the cliff this place was built on. I should check there next, I place the key in my inventory and I make my way outside. I follow the correct path and make it to a little road that cuts through some trees. I walk down it and I come across a heavy door, I try and push it open. I get a system notification telling me otherwise.

historical

[You need a key to open this door]

I take out the key I got from the table and I put it in the keyhole. I turn it and the door clicks open, it creaks loudly as I push it open. Suddenly torches light along the walls start to light the path. That means this leads to the main chamber, and to the boss of this dungeon. I make my way down the path mentally preparing to for a battle. There was nothing in the forums about this place, so I have no idea what I am walking into.