[Ding! Your Current STR: 20]
[Ding! Your Current Level: 3 (2/40)]
[Ding! You have used 5 MP.]
[Ding! Leg Sweep has activated!]
[Ding! Your current Dexterity has overwhelmed your targets!]
Activating Leg Sweep, I rushed forth, targeting the two slimes on the left side of the Level 3 Slime. These two were Level 2, and I'm curious to see if they will die in one hit or not, after making my Strength 20.
One shouldn't neglect Dexterity either. In terms of the Gamer System, it correlates to attack speed, and accuracy, amongst other things. Thanks to my 6 points of Dexterity, I'm moving quite faster than these stupid slimes.
The Slimes couldn't even launch one of their Skills before my leg made contact. It's still a weird feeling, striking against a solid form of jelly. One would expect my leg to just get stuck inside it, but nope. That doesn't happen. The force was strong enough to lift the two Slimes into the air, getting blasted into a similar spot on the left side of the tunnel. We were further in so it wasn't the exact same spot as last time.
[-35!][-41!]
I saw two large damage numbers appear above the Slimes. I saw that Dexterity notification. See what I mean? It doesn't just influence your attack speed and accuracy, it also lets you land critical hits more easily. I do not know if it's a one to one ratio right now, but maybe my Luck is a factor here. I landed two critical hits. I killed the two slimes in one shot.
[Ding! You have felled a Level 2 Slime.]
[Ding! You have felled a Level 2 Slime.]
[Ding! You have obtained 4 EXP.]
[Ding! Point Doubler has triggered.]
[Ding! You have obtained 8 EXP!]
[Ding! Your Status has been updated.]
[Ding! Current Level: 3 (10/40)]
[Ding! $20 USD has been deposited into your Wallet.]
[Ding! Wallet: $150 USD.]
[Ding! Leg Sweep has reached 100%!]
[Ding! Leg Sweep (F) has leveled up! 1 -> 2 (0.0%)]
"Impressive.", Tony said with a smirk. "But are you sure these...slimes, were they? They don't seem like a threat to me. They are way too slow. Do I even need to use my gun?"
With his pistol still in hand, Tony just had a look at the three remaining Slimes that were angrily trying to head toward our direction. Even I felt a little guilty about that attack just now. Did I really have to put all my points into Strength so quickly like that?
"Haha. At the end of the day, what we're fighting against are the lowest of the low ranked Monsters. Slimes can't do much, unless they evolve and adapt over time. Seeing as we have a moment, can I have a look at that weapon of yours?", I asked Tony.
"Go for it.", Tony said, casually tossing a firearm my way. Oi, that can be dangerous, you know!
To my surprise, Observe automatically triggered. So it even works on weapons, eh? Neat.
[Ding! Observe has reached 100%!]
[Ding! Observe has leveled up! 1 -> 2.]
Would you look at that? Observe leveled up. I had used it the most since coming into this Instance Dungeon, so that makes sense.
I also saw that Leg Sweep has also leveled up after that exchange too. I wonder, does it match the Gamer System exactly? If so, then that means each Skill that can level up has a total of one-hundred levels before a change happens.
[Crude Pistol]
Rank: Gray
Attack Power: +5
Range: Medium
Durability: 50/50
Ammo Cartridge: 20/20
Cooldown: 1 second
A common, every-day pistol. Has no special effects. This weapon was not made by Tony. Tony's Skill, Weapon Designer did not apply any additional effects.
Now I know why this pistol has a gray color wrapped around it. It is its rarity. Not exactly crazy.
Honestly, I was expecting to see something else here, considering this was a weapon Tony personally has. Did the Gamer System dumb it down to the point of it aligning to this Instance Dungeon, considering it's a beginner-level dungeon and all? I'm not sure. I'm kind of leaning toward that, since Tony's Level started at 1. He wasn't some godly-level being.
And while I'm going on about that, that is exactly why Tony of all people managed to find his way into this place. He's a major character in the MCU, and is considered a mortal. He doesn't have god-like powers, so Soul Protection didn't mask him. That's my take on this, anyway.
Not that I'm against it. I'll go back to what I previously brought up. The Gamer System isn't like other Systems. It heavily relies on forming a Party! Tony Stark may be the first person to join now, but that means other MCU characters will likely join down the line. I'll just have to be wary about individuals like Thor, considering he's an actual god.
+5 Attack Power, eh? I wonder, will Tony let me use it? I want to see if I can get a new Skill or two by firing a gun.
"Mind if I give this a whirl?"
"I almost feel sorry for these Slimes, but go for it.", Tony nodded.
"Then I won't be kind. Fire in the hole!", I exclaimed, and took aim at another Level 2 Slime.
I wasn't unknown to using a gun. I had one for safety back in my previous Earth, kept away in a safe for emergency use. A lot of families do that in case they ever came across a home intruder. I only took basic self-defense courses so I mostly just know how to take aim, and fire. My hand moved swiftly and I shot out multiple shots.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
[-22!][-23!]
[-21!][-24!]
The other two Level 2 Slimes couldn't even move an inch before four hard bullets found their cores, and tore it to shreds. It does look like there is a little variance in the amount of damage that I do, but sure enough, a weapon's attack power gets directly added to my current STR Stat. Considering that I attacked with a firearm, it didn't use DEX at all. I was wondering if that would be the case.
This also confirms that a target's VIT directly reduces the amount of damage I output, so we'll see if that carries later on, or if combat will evolve into something that's more advanced. Right now, it's pretty basic, and I like that.
Though it would seem us killing the four Level 2 Slimes angered the Level 3 Slime. We suddenly saw a hole open, which I could only assume is its mouth? Do Slimes even have mouths?
"Stay sharp Tony. This last Slime is launching an attack."
"I can obviously see that."
Pew! Pew!
[Ding! Slime Lv3 has used Slime Shot.]
[Ding! Slime Lv3 has used 150% of its STR!]
Gross, but I went ahead and took the hit. It isn't like I was saving Tony, but I had a lot more HP than he did. I felt a somewhat powerful mucous-like ball strike right into my chest, leaving it sticky.
[Ding! You took 6 damage!]
[Ding! Current HP: 404/410.]
[Ding! You have been inflicted with Slow.]
[Ding! Your movement speed has now decreased for ten seconds.]
Well...That isn't good.
While I didn't take much damage from Slime Shot, it had an additional effect of reducing my movement speed. It isn't making me come to a slow walk, but I am feeling the impact of it. I can't exactly run.
This also confirms how my VIT works too. Right now, it's just a one to one, and I'm fine with that. The one variance this attack had was a boosted Attack Power from Slime Shot.
But at the end of the day, this is just a Slime. I didn't expect it to do too much damage.
I didn't hesitate, and raised my gun again. It has 8 VIT compared to the other Slimes, so I fired off three rounds.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
[-18!][-19!][-37!]
[Ding! You have felled a Level 2 Slime!]
[Ding! You have felled a Level 2 Slime!]
[Ding! You have felled a Level 3 Slime!]
[Ding! You have obtained 9 EXP.]
[Ding! Points Doubler has triggered.]
[Ding! You have obtained 18 EXP.]
[Ding! Current Level: 3 (28/40)]
[Ding! $40 USD has been deposited into your Wallet.]
[Ding! Wallet: $190 USD.]
[Ding! By doing a special Action, a new Field Skill has been generated.]
[Ding! Basic Firearms Mastery (E) Lv1 (0.0%) has been added to your Status.]
[Ding! By doing a special Action, a new Active Skill has been generated.]
[Ding! Quick Shot (F) Lv1 (0.0%) has been added to your Status.]
[Ding! Your Crude Pistol's Ammo and Durability has been reduced.]
[Ding! Crude Pistol's Durability: 43/50. Ammo: 13/20.]
Two more Skills acquired, just like that! And I'm over halfway to Level 4! The recommended level for this Instance Dungeon is 1, so the rest of this will probably be a breeze.
[Ding! Ten seconds have passed. Your movement speed has returned to normal.]
While reviewing those Gamer Notifications, the status effect inflicted upon me ended, and I no longer felt sluggish.
"That was rather anticlimactic. You took a hit though. Doesn't look like it did a lot of damage.", Tony said, looking at my hoodie.
Even though the effects were gone, it still had slime on it, which was quite disgusting. Hopefully I can wash it later, or it'll just dry up on its own. Talk about realism right there.
"It didn't. Thanks for letting me try out your gun. I received some benefits from it, you can have it back.", I said, and gave Tony his gun back. "It took seven rounds to finish the three Slimes. It has thirteen left."
"You can tell how much is inside it at just a glance?", Tony mused.
"Haha...", I laughed. I'd rather not tell Tony about Observe yet.
The fact I can view any and all sorts of details, at least to some degree, is quite overpowered in its own right. I'm sure in due time, it'll give me what a monster, or potentially another human, is weak to.
"Well I am not one to pry. Like I said, as exciting as battling monsters is on paper, it was pretty uneventful. I didn't have to lift a single finger.", Tony said.
"That's the way it goes. It's not like this is some turned-based game. If you're faster, you can overpower your targets. It's as simple as that.", I said, and shrugged my shoulders. "And I don't think this place was taking into consideration multiple people, let alone weapons like guns. I'm pretty sure we broke it."
"So what you're saying is, this shouldn't have happened, and I shouldn't have encountered you.", Tony guessed, being quick to put two-and-two together. There's that sharp mind of his.
"That's exactly what I'm saying, but reality is what you see before you. The Instance Dungeon allowed you to enter it, and well, here we are. Let's finish this thing. It's a dungeon with twenty monsters, and I took out eleven already. There's nine left, and one of them is likely the Boss.", I said.
"A boss monster, huh? I'm looking forward to it.", Tony replied. "By the way, about these experience points and this Status thing, I did not receive any. How does that work?"
"Good question, I should check on that.", I replied, also wanting to figure that out. I received a hundred percent of experience even after Tony joined. When it comes to the Gamer System's Party, it has its own settings. I opened my Status, and saw a little gear icon next to the Party. Party Settings!
[Ding! You have opened the Party menu.]
[Ding! Current Party: Myles Lv3, Tony Stark Lv1.]
[Ding! You may adjust the slider to split your obtained experience points.]
[Ding! Myles = 100%. Tony = 0%.]
Let's fix that, shall we?
[Ding! You have adjusted your Party Settings.]
[Ding! Myles = 50%, Tony Stark = 50%.]
"There we go, you should be able to get some experience now, Mr. Stark. I can adjust it to how I deem fit. I set it to fifty-fifty, so you'll get half of what we get for the rest of this Instance Dungeon.", I explained.
"That's pretty handy. But are you sure? I haven't done a single thing yet.", Tony asked.
"Trust me, Mr. Stark. Just you letting me use that gun of yours is more than enough of a reward to give you some experience points in return.", I responded, keeping my face neutral.
"You got something out of that. Then I won't press on it.", Tony said. "And enough with that Mr. Stark business. We're past being strangers at this point. Just call me Tony.", Tony said.
"Well...Alright.", I nodded. To my surprise, I received some more Gamer Notifications, leaving me shocked.
[Ding! You have become acquainted with future Iron Man, Tony Stark.]
[Ding! A new page has been added to your Status. Relationships is now available.]
[Ding! By meeting Tony Stark, you have acquired one of his Skills.]
[Ding! You have acquired Skill, Lofty Genius (A)!]
[Ding! Your INT and WIS have been automatically changed to 10.]
[Ding! This change is not considered a gain in points.]
[Ding! Point Doubler did not trigger.]
[Ding! Your INT and WIS will now be doubled per level up.]
[Ding! Points Doubler will stack with Lofty Genius (A).]
[Ding! Your INT and WIS gain will now be increased by four times!]
Let alone meeting Tony on my first day here in the MCU, that just came out of left field. And am I seeing that right? Points Doubler can stack with other Skills!? Now I know why it's ranked SSS. Holy sh*t!