"That''s very nice. It''s very inspirational." Tund kicked at the ground. "It''s a very good way to gloss over the fact that you''ve betrayed me."


    A System has to eat. And sacrificing the willing to The Infinite is one of the few ways we can do that.


    "The others being?"


    We also feed off aplishment, although I expect little of that. I''m sorry that I could only spend the bare minimum I could on your ss.


    "I guessed," Tund spat.


    Which means that any sesses you have from here on out, benefit me as much as they do you. What advice I can give from this point on, I''ll give. What help I can manage for you, I''ll manage. Because from the first major checkpoint in the dungeon on, you are a source of profit for me. Something that makes me stronger.


    "So you can go back and hurt my family?"


    Of course not. Why would I? But if you don''t believe me, then know this. I simply do not have the strength to be both here and there at once. I am tied to this ce as long as you are. It is only when you fall that I gain the power to return.


    That lined up with just enough of what Tund knew about why System prophets were taken away that he was willing to provisionally believe it.


    "And that first checkpoint is?"


    A skilled Cannian Knight. Fully armored. It guards the fifth floor and the entrance to the safe zone behind it.


    "And I have a me''s chance in a rainstorm of actually killing it, but you get paid out at long odds if I do?"


    That''s correct.


    Tund thought about giving up right then, just on the off chance that dying as early as possible would trap the System there in the dark. He knew it wouldn''t work. The System would have nned for that. Wouldn''t have risked it like that. He''d have to fight.


    A Cannian Knight was the stuff of storybooks, but something that was known. Tund had read about them. They were a difficult challenge forbat sses, something that required extra training and leveling to prepare for. Warriors who went head-to-head with them without perfect preparation tended to never make it home.


    "And I''ll have my bare hands and nobat abilities to help me. At all," Tund said, keeping his voice as t as possible.


    Not your bare hands. I am limited in what I can do, but I can at least help with that.


    Out of nowhere, Tund felt a notification jump into existence, as well as the sneaking feeling that he was just a single wish away from some sort of permanent gain.


    Ambushed in the Dark


    You have been attacked while unarmed, unprepared and by most standards inadequate for the task of defending yourself. Coming out of this battle alive was a long shot, and has enhanced the usual "First Victory" achievement earned by new adventurers.


    Rewards: Beginner''s Equipment Bundle (Enhanced), Additional ss Experience


    That should have given you a level-up. I advise you apply at least one of the five free points to your vitality to allow for regeneration.


    "Five points per level? That seems like a lot."


    For a battle ss, it would be. For a workman''s ss, it''s average. They generally need to be able to aplish more with fewer levels.


    "Any advice for the other points?"


    No. And you wouldn''t believe it if I gave it to you anyway. Use your judgement.


    Tund applied two of the points to his vitality, feeling the relief as the bites on his hand clot almost immediately and begin to close. The actual wounds were not as serious as the damage to his overall health from the mana, but they were the main source of pain. Tund nned on resting a long time to make sure he was tip-top before moving on, but at least now he wouldn''t be in agony.


    His head cleared up almost immediately as the pain dulled. Considering where to put his points, Tund realized he needed more information before making that decision. Turning from the stat point distribution for the moment, he willed his Beginner''s Equipment Bundle to materialize. There was both a thump and a tter as the gear appeared out of midair and fell to the floor.


    The first group was several pieces of cloth and leather, bound together by more cloth. He untied it, getting a description of each piece as he did.N?v(el)B\\jnn


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    <strong>Farmer''s Garb, Cloth</strong>


    A singlet of durable, damage resistant material. This novice-level equipment is meant to prevent incidental damage from thorns, falls, and the kinds of scrapesmon in manualbor.


    As a piece of workman''s equipment, duplicates of this equipment are avable from the System at any time. Apleted farmer''s garb set (with hat and boots) slightly enhances its wearer''s endurance and the durability of the set itself.


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    <strong>Farmer''s Boots, Leather</strong>


    As a part of the Farmer''s Garb set, these boots circumvent normal ss restrictions on leather equipment. They are ssified as workman''s equipment, and are receable.


    The Farmer''s Boots maximize traction on a variety of surfaces and are made of thick, durable leather.


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    "I''m restricted to cloth?" Tund asked before he could stop himself. "I suppose that makes sense."


    Yours was not intended as abat ss.


    Tund sighed. "It doesn''t matter. Let me check out the other gear."


    The rest of his gear consisted of a pack and a wide-brimmed hat, thetter of which he wore only because itpleted the set. Inside the pack, there were a few days of rations, a help until he could figure out some other source of food.


    Having finished donning the clothes and putting his old, human-make street clothes into his pack, Tund moved on to the harder item that had skittered a few feet away across the floor earlier.


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    <strong>Farmer''s Tool (Shovel, Hoe, Pitchfork, Scythe, Copsible)</strong>


    The Farmer''s Tool is meant tobine the most basic aspects of a farmer''s work into one implement. At your will, the tool will change from one implement to another. When stored, the tool shrinks to something that can be easily carried on your back.


    The tool itself has above-average durability, and is more durable in a less easily damaged form, such as its shovel function. It gains no more or less from its user''s stats than any mundane object.


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    It was dealer''s choice on stats then. If the tool rewarded agility or strength, Tund would have reason to bet more on one or the other. As it stood, he would put a point in each, and put hisst remaining point in agility, leaving him a little faster than he was strong.


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    <strong>Tund Lowstreet</strong>


    <strong>ss:</strong> Farmer LV. 1


    <strong>Strength:</strong> 11


    <strong>Agility: </strong>12


    <strong>Vitality:</strong> 12


    <strong>Spirit: </strong>10


    <strong>Mind: </strong>10


    <strong>Force: </strong>10


    <strong>Skills: </strong>Quickgrow LV. 0, Enrich Seed LV. 0, Strong Back LV. 0


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    Tund was pretty sure farmers benefited from at least some spirit and force, which drove their nt-enhancement abilities. But getting to that point meant he would have to survive long enough to till some soil and nt his seeds, which was a very uncertain prospect at the moment. For now, he would put every point he could in the stats that kept him from getting torn apart, and ignore his agricultural purpose entirely.


    The reward is not much. But it''s all that I''m willing to do for you at this time, and a worse bet than I should be making anyway.


    "I''m not thanking you," Tund stated before softening his tone a bit. "So what now? I just march forward and try to survive?"


    No.


    "No?"


    No. In a conventional dungeon, you might be able to simply survive. The Infinite, however, pulls its ordained ever forward. Merecent survival has only one result in The Infinite that I can inform you of it without restrictions. If you dally, if you do not improve, you will simply die.


    "Sounds like I will anyway. I''d imagine that the pacing is geared at actualbatants. I''ll just get shoved off a cliff that I can never avoid, and you won''t get that big payout anyway," Tund said, sensing weakness in the System''s words.


    Let me see what I can do.


    Tund kept his mouth shut. Pushing his case wouldn''t fix anything. If the System was willing to help, he would stay out of its way.


    You are very, very lucky that fixing this was free. Examine your notification.


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    <strong>Diminished Compulsion (Passive)</strong>


    The Infinite pulls ever forward, pushing its ordained towards greater and greater heights or deeper and deeper doom. Often, they find both. You are no exception, but a negotiation between the System and Dungeon System has resulted in an adjustment to the pace of this pull.


    You will find that at all stages, yourpelled movement forward will be somewhat slower than others, granting you months or weeks of extra time to prepare for each new challenge.


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    "Will that be enough?" Tund asked.


    There''s no way to tell. Not even I know the future. And now our conversation has reached its limit. Good luck, Tund.


    "Just like that? I have more questions. A lot more," Tund said, careful not to let the panic enter his voice.


    There was no answer.


    "System? System?" Tund looked desperately around the dim light in the space. He hadn''t realized how much of a help it was to not be alone in this ce, or how used to the System''spany he had be in thest few weeks. He suddenly felt very cold. "Please? Please don''t go."


    There was no answer from the System. Instead, Tund felt an impact against his back. It was another mote, one that had likely been held back by the System''s stopping of time, and one that was now free to attack. Luckily, it failed to find purchase with its teeth against the t of Tund''s back on the first impact. He whirled around before it could try again, brandishing his tool.


    The rotation of his body brought the head of the tool against the mote, nging as it cut off the monster''s second bite. The mote was flung off to the side where it impacted hard against a stone pir, then immediately turned to attack again. The motes were not much for tactics, it seemed. They simply attacked.


    Tund dodged away and bought himself a moment to send a mentalmand to the Farmer''s Tool to turn into a shovel for maximum attack area. The tool dissolved into a sort of mist above the handle, apparently to give it the flexibility to change into another implement entirely. And as the System had indicated, it wasn''t a very quick process.


    When the mote came in for a new attack, Tund had his shovel ready. He swung, this time on purpose and at a downward angle. He timed the impact poorly, which meant the shovel head actually pushed the mote towards him as the shovel continued its arc. It would have been a dangerous thing had not the mote been absolutely destroyed by the blow. He watched as it bounced off the stone floor, then began to dissolve away, presumably returning its energy to the dungeon.


    But it wouldn''t return all of it. Some of the energy went to Tund. Surprising enough to him was the fact that this wasn''t the kind of thing that was represented in numbers. He could feel the fullness that the energy brought with it, and vaguely sense the distance to the next step. Further details were guesswork.


    It was much smaller progress than he expected, but Tund could work with that. The motes were at least manageable, unless they were hiding some surprises. With his new tool, he should be able to take them down without much risk. The same could not be said for whatever was at the end of the corridor leading out of this room.


    Tund turned his Farmer''s Tool into a pitchfork. It would make for a better use of his agility stat, especially as his vitality returned more and more of his life force to him.


    The third mote appeared from the darkness as the tool was still changing. Tund abandoned any pretense of dodging or fighting and simply jogged away, leading it around the room as it attempted to keep up with his newfound speed. After a few more moments, the Farmer''s Tool audibly clicked as it fully morphed into its new form, and Tund turned as he choked up on the handle and thrust the pitchfork''s three tines at the mote.


    The tines hit, piercing through the mote''s mouth and impaling it. It struggled for a few moments on the spike before it stopped moving, began dissolving, and slipped off the pitchfork just in time for Tund to turn to face the next enemy.


    The room seemed to have an endless supply of motes, and Tund''s extra two points worth of vitality was perfect for the level of exertion he was using to take them down. Tund was fine with that. As far as he was concerned, it didn''t matter if it would take thousands of kills instead of hundreds to hit his next level. He would stay in this room as long as he possibly could, grinding away safely and getting as strong as possible before he moved on.


    If that''s what it took to survive, that''s what Tund would do. If he had no battle skills, he would just over level to make up for the uselessness of his ss. But if one thing was sure, it was that he would put no effort into anything but getting stronger. No matter what, he''d do absolutely no farming.