System Change

Derek was more than satisfied with his new stats. Although both his Endurance and Vitality crossing the 1,000-point threshold came with massive pain and discomfort, the increased modifiers and extra Health and Defense more than made up for it.

In fact, if Derek had to choose, he would certainly choose to accept a few moments of agony for permanent increases in his survivability stats.

Naturally, the next thing that he needed to do was check on his new skills. First came the one he was excited for, Void Steps. Time Prison seemed to be a valuable skill, especially considering the cost, but it lacked any immediate improvements for Derek.

Void Steps could possibly increase his maneuverability and thus survivability. So, before leaving the undying dungeon for the last time, he wanted to try out his skills where nobody could see him.

Now, one thing he took note of in the description of his new skill was that it needed to be used in conjunction with Void Sense. Of course, Void Sense was a passive skill, so it was always on, but Derek had grown used to lowering his sensitivity towards the void as it was always a lot to take in, even with the clarity that came from having increased Wisdom.

With Void Sense turned down as low as it could go, Derek could still see some faint ripples in the air around him, but he knew that those he could see now barely scratched the surface of what was really there.

Derek focused his mind and gradually increased his perception of the void bit by bit. Soon, he found a happy medium for the skill. He could see all the ripples now, but they weren’t so blatant that they would be a distraction while fighting.

Next was to actually use Void Steps. Derek activated the skill and jumped towards the closest ripple. When his foot made contact, it was as if he stepped on solid ground. After that, he hopped from ripple to ripple, gaining altitude with each jump.

He could only use the skill for a little less than a minute before he ran out of mana. He could negate some of the cost by turning the skill on and off in between jumps, but he didn’t care about that for now. He had Greater Meditation to help him recover any mana he used in the process.

In the short time that he was able to keep the skill activated, Derek had made it to an extreme height. Looking down, even with his enhanced vision, he could barely make out the crypt that was the dungeon entrance. If he wasn’t in a dungeon, and the current planet was anything like Earth, Derek was sure that he would feel some of the effects of reduced air pressure.

Soon, Derek was out of mana, and he began to free fall. Technically, this is my second time skydiving. He recalled that he was quite high in the air when he first came to this world. Of course, it was nowhere near as high up as he currently was.

Derek spread his arms as he had seen many skydivers do to reduce his speed. If nothing else, falling from the sky was quite peaceful. He didn’t worry about impacting the ground as he was more than certain that his body and organs were more than strong enough to avoid being injured by impacting the ground at terminal velocity.

That was one of the things that always infuriated Derek when he read novels back on Earth. A man would forge and strengthen his body and organs so much so that he could be punched through a mountain or slammed into the ground, creating a giant crater, and live. Then, later in the novel, the same person would stand on a platform or cliff and be scared of falling and hitting the ground.

Derek shook his head at his thoughts and prepared to hit the ground. Of course, there was only one way to land after falling at such a height. He shifted his body and stretched out his right arm, forming a fist with his hand. Then, he hit the ground.

Unfortunately, Derek was in a graveyard, a damp one at that. Dust didn’t fly up and a loud impact sound didn’t ring out. The ideal superhero landing didn’t happen. Derek’s cheeks blushed a bit as he thanked the heavens nobody was around to see him.

Derek pulled his arm, which had sunk into the ground all the way past his elbow, out of the damp ground. Next was his legs. He was pretty much buried waist deep in the ground. Note to self. Make sure the ground isn’t wet before testing a fall from such a height.

Derek looked down at his dirty clothes and cast Cleaning. It wasn’t until his fifth cast before he was fully clean. Alright. Derek thought. That skill is fun and should be really useful if I need to escape or climb. Time to see what this Time Prison is all about.

First, he slipped into meditation to restore all of his mana, then he focused on activating Time Prison. Like that, a third of his mana was sapped from him and he instinctively knew what to do next. With glowing purple hands, he grabbed out and pulled the space in front of him apart.

The nothingness in front of him was ripped open. A solid black door appeared in front of his eyes. Derek placed his hand on the door and pulled it open. Inside was a pitch-black room with nothing but walls, doors, and a ceiling. Derek gathered his courage and walked in.

When Derek stepped into the room, he could feel the passage of time. Time was currently flowing inside the room at the same pace as it was outside. Derek knew that, with a thought, he could change the flow of time in the room, but the change wouldn’t take effect until the door behind him closed.

He then walked over to one of the doors inside the chamber and placed his hand on it. Opening the door, he saw another room, this time smaller, was waiting. Finally, he realized that each door was a different cell and he could adjust the time of each cell. This meant that he could technically suspend time for one prisoner while causing it to pass rapidly for another.

Of course, the prisoners wouldn’t know the difference until they were back outside and were able to see how much time had passed in the real world.

Derek closed the door to the cell and placed his hand back on it. Now I can see why this skill cost so much more than any of the others. He thought of all the possible uses for the skill. Unfortunately, I can’t adjust the time too much with my current skill level.

With his hand on the cell door, Derek focused on changing the passage of time inside. Currently, he was only able to make small adjustments to the time. Let's see... Currently, I can either double or half the speed of time in the cells. I can make 24 hours outside become either 48 or 12 hours inside.

There are just so many uses. Derek thought. The cells could be used for training rooms as well as prison cells. Of course, training by oneself was always a slower way to level skills than using them in actual fights, but with the increased time, it would still be a game changer.

The biggest question he had was whether the person he placed in the prison would age at the same rate he did when he was trapped in the void. Though he was in the void for decades, at least, he had only aged a few years when he finally escaped. If it was the same in the prison, then by putting those in that hadn’t yet unlocked the system, he would be able to help them achieve great results when it came to choosing a class.

This is basically a cheat. He thought, then shook his head. There’s no way the system would allow such blatant abuse. I have to be missing something. Besides, nothing really matters until I’m able to increase the level of the prison so I can better manipulate the passage of time.

Unfortunately, the only way for me to level it is to use it. I wonder if that means that I just need to open it and close it, or if I actually have to have prisoners inside. I’m not too keen on imprisoning people. Plus, I would have to worry about feeding and watering them as well, depending on the level of the people locked away. Derek couldn’t help but think of the starving and suffering he went through when he was trapped in the void.

I would rather kill them and be done with it. I guess I can change some things up. Clay would have been the perfect candidate before everything else happened. He thought.

Derek backed away and looked at his surroundings once more. There were ten prison cells he could use. I wonder if the number of rooms will increase as the skill levels or if it will stay the same. He thought. Maybe more rooms will be added as the others are filled. He wouldn’t really know until he started using the prison.

He took one last look at everything, then walked out of the prison. He turned and closed the door, then, like curtains, he pulled the void together and closed it as well.

With that, Derek sat on a nearby stone and took out some paper and a writing utensil. He had promised the old adventurer that he would provide him some information about the dungeon, and he didn’t feel like staying in the camp to do it. Written instructions would have to work.

On the paper, he explained, in detail, the variety of enemies he had faced in the dungeon, including the boss lich. He went on to give his thoughts on the best way for an average team to clear the dungeon, and what they needed to look for when assembling a team. Nobody else was a walking tank with magical powers, like Derek, so they needed to plan accordingly.

With his ‘strategy guide’ written, Derek placed his hand on the orb and prepared to leave the dungeon. It’s time to go noble hunting. With that thought, he vanished.

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