Luca DR

The infinity dungeon 125

Chapter 125

David ran as fast as his powerful, long legs could carry him, which was pretty fucking fast after his recent power-up. He was now able to utilize more of both his own physical strength and his magical power without destroying his body in the process, allowing him to prowl through the underbrush of the forest, making a beeline straight for the biolab where the emergency alarm had triggered.

When he arrived at the foot of the hill, for a moment he thought it was all a ru...

The infinity dungeon 124

Chapter 124

Earlier.

“I finally took the time to examine the strange trees you asked me to study,” Johanne said, looking up from her tablet. “Indeed, it was as you say. They are developing rudimentary mana systems. They possess similarities to the Fae networks, although there are differences.”

Travis frowned. “Is it dangerous?”

Johanne shrugged. “We don’t know yet.”

“Could it happen to people?”

“So far, we have observed a correlation...

The infinity dungeon 123

Chapter 123

A sense of urgency overtook Michael. Seeing that Old Dave was gone, he immediately started to wonder why the man had left in such a hurry without telling him anything, especially with the time dilation of the second floor. Worried, he took out his phone to check for news and the current time dilation factor for the floor, but failed to even see what he was looking at.

He squinted, but his phone’s screen was completely out of focus. The number was there, but he just c...

The infinity dungeon 122

Chapter 122

The icy claw descended towards Michael. It was certain death, and he knew it. Still, he stared at the monster in hatred and defiance, refusing to acknowledge that this was the end.

Suddenly, the monster shuddered. For a moment, Michael thought he had done something, but then he saw a stone-covered hand emerging from the creature’s stomach in a deafening sound of shattering ice, followed by a guttural scream as the hand was pulled back. It revealed a hole that went fr...

The infinity dungeon 121

Chapter 121

A deafening roar pierced Michael’s ears before the monster swiped down with a gigantic claw made of ice. Michael defended himself with his body, deflecting the limb away from the sitting form of Old Dave, who was meditating in the center of the room.

It was hard to pin down the monster’s exact shape: it was made of countless limbs and appendages of ice, protrusions and spikes covered its body, and its sleek surface was translucent and reflective, scattering the lig...

The infinity dungeon 120

Chapter 120

“To reach Silver, you need Qi in your aura. You can’t not have it, although you can obtain it in many different ways,” Michael explained as Old Dave nodded along. “If you can’t do it with your own strength, you can use an item, external help, a moment of enlightenment, whatever. The important thing is that in order to take the step, you need Qi to layer onto your aura. Will an improper procedure stunt your development? Who knows?”

“But that�...

The infinity dungeon 119

Chapter 119

Old Dave sat cross-legged on the bare stone that made up the part of the Valley where the golems dwelled. The place was rich in many elemental veins, ranging from Stone to Metal, with hints of more specialized elements like Earth, Silicon, Carbon, Sand, Bedrock, Iron, and a myriad of others. They didn’t matter, not at this stage. Michael watched over him to make sure Old Dave wouldn’t be bothered by the outside world while he worked on gaining a skill to manipulate magic...

The infinity dungeon 118

Chapter 118

“Do you want to do things the proper way or the easy way?” Michael asked as he and Old Dave obliterated monster after monster on the first floor of the dungeon.

“Do you even need to ask? Who do you take me for?” the old man retorted, his movements impossible for his age. Of course, Michael knew better. He didn’t need to heal the old man to know the toll the fighting was taking on his body.

As they rested, a quick application of [Healing Aura] restored O...

The infinity dungeon 117

Bonus Chapter – David D. Chestermill

Some time earlier.

David slowly rose from his chair, feeling his back crack and pop after sitting for so long. He had been reading the reports and documents that Travis Tyrell so graciously allowed him to peruse, for it felt like the younger man was doing him a favor by letting him know what the darker parts of the company David was CEO of were doing. Such an unruly young fellow, one too arrogant for his own good. His arrogance had b...

The infinity dungeon 116

Chapter 116

It took a while for Johanne to compose herself. Afterward, she sat by the kitchen table. They were in Michael’s tree house, and the seat was just a wooden stump that looked like it had been grown from the tree itself, as was most of the wood that made up the furniture of the house. Yet, it was surprisingly comfortable.

“What I told at the beginning was true, my lord,” she began, her voice barely a whisper. “I had no memories of my life before being trapped in t...

The infinity dungeon 115

Chapter 115

Michael and Stephan looked at each other as they stood at the beginning of the dungeon’s fourth floor. Before them, mountains soared toward the sky like skinny fingers covered in snow, while in the distance, larger mountains made a crown that imprisoned the valley within its cold embrace. With his keen eyes, Michael could see hints of the valley below, conifer trees swaying in the wind, and with his keen ears hear the call of a raven circling high above. Below, he knew, th...

The infinity dungeon 114

Chapter 114

The aura didn't flatten Michael to the floor, nor did it make walking impossible. Michael’s own power was more than enough to counter its effects—although not completely—but at least to the point where he felt like he was walking against a strong wind and not stuck in place by a force he could not overcome. He reached the door after several tense seconds, finding it closed and locked from the outside.

As expected from a race that claimed to have lost its values, ...

The infinity dungeon 113

Chapter 113

Hidden beneath layers of stubborn frost, ice so thick and compressed it was almost electric blue, lay the stone of the forges. The forges, as the name suggested, were numerous rooms where the dwarves of old used to work their metals, shaping them into marvels of engineering and magic. At least, Michael thought as much from what he saw here and there, but all that was left were mere hints at the greatness that once was.

Not much remained of the bygone age that produced ...

The infinity dungeon 112

Chapter 112

The silence of the keep beneath the mountain was deafening. Michael had been here a few times already, in previous loops and iterations of the floor, yet the effect was not lessened by his prior experiences.

“We left in search of better mountains,” Trylfir grumbled. The dwarf was talking with Stephan who, after realizing how Michael felt about this place, was taking things much more seriously. “Such fools we were,” the dwarf continued. “Better mountains… th...

Heads up

Next chapter coming up soon!

Someone gave a good old 0.5 star review because they found out Travis is not a believer in god and jesus… what a sad person.

To offset this, i ask you all to leave a little review on RR if you can. As compensation l’ll name an operator after you, but no guarantees they will survive very long!

https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/86601/the-inf...

The infinity dungeon 111

Chapter 111

By the time Michael and Stephan reached the boss chamber, silence had befallen the duo. They each fought with their own goals in mind, and nothing more needed to be spoken between them. When they were done clearing the last room, Michael simply looked at the threshold leading to the boss chamber and sighed.

It had taken a single sentence from Stephan, after Michael had explained the challenge the boss room represented, to once and for all disabuse him of any illusions ...

The infinity dungeon 110

Chapter 110

As Michael and Stephan crossed the threshold, they were catapulted into the dark and foreboding space of the dungeon. The Time element was abundant here, clearly visible to Michael, hinting at a strong time dilation. He mentioned as much to Stephan, who already knew. He was surprised to learn, however, that the Time element was thinning—at least at shallow levels of the dungeon—and it was happening at a much faster rate now that it wasn’t just Michael delving its depth...

The infinity dungeon 109

Chapter 109

Stephan was clutching his head, screaming incoherently, while Michael tried to figure out what was going on. He was almost panicking. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. What was even going on? One moment Stephan was fine, and now he looked like someone was scrambling his brain from the inside. The man’s eyes and ears were bleeding, his nose a veritable river of blood.

Fortunately, Michael didn’t need a passive skill to have enhanced reflexes...

The infinity dungeon 108

Chapter 108

The drive on the winding roads took Michael and Stephan through patches of woods, lone fields, and houses with thick green lawns, while everything else around them was a shade of yellow that looked utterly out of place. Here and there, a cloud of dust was being kicked up by some agricultural machine operating on too-dry fields.

“How long has it been since the last rain?” Michael asked, as a way to make conversation.

“A while, now that I think about it,” S...

The infinity dungeon 107

Chapter 107

By the time Michael was done with the day’s chores, night was rapidly approaching. Crazy to think that he didn’t even have time to do a single dungeon delve today, but that’s what happens when you are in over your head.

It’s simple to say, “Just take ten minutes for a quick delve, how can you not have ten minutes to spare?”, but reality is different. It reminded Michael of his teenage years when he would see office workers eating microwave mea...

The infinity dungeon 106

Chapter 106

Michael found the doctor not at Saint Hernest, but at one of the far wings of Site 00 proper. Since the doctor was experimenting with magic, he had been asked to relocate his experiments within the mana cloud to ensure he had the necessary materials and the required supervision should anything go awry. This part of the now sprawling complex that was Site 00 was half buried into a small hill, as flat real estate was at a premium this close to the Appalachian Mountains. It sui...

The infinity dungeon 105

Chapter 105

Morning came quicker than Michael would have liked. Getting out of bed, he sent a burst of healing through his body, feeling the refreshing waves of intricately woven mana and Qi mingle with Intent, thanks to the new evolution of the skill. The effect of the healing was even more dramatic than usual, instantly refreshing his body to full awareness and readiness. The same couldn’t be said for his mind.

Or rather, that’s what his old self would have thought. Instead,...

Chapter 104

Chapter 104

Michael stalked through the night alone, his aura wrapped tight around himself. His skill, [Aura Masking], reduced the way others perceived it to a Mid-Copper level for most people, but his titanic aura control allowed him to hide even more of his strength and presence. By manipulating reality itself, he erased his presence, becoming a gaping hole in the fabric of space and time, a point of utter absence that defied the senses. Eyes slid off him as if he didn't exist.

...

The infinity dungeon 103

Chapter 103

The wooden door slowly opened, swinging on rusty, creaky hinges. The action revealed a barren floor, concrete walls, and no windows, with a lone incandescent lightbulb providing scant orange light that barely reached the edges of the room. At the far corner was a single, large oak chest with an iron lock and a hole for a key. It looked inviting, alluring, as if daring anyone to approach it and claim the treasure that awaited inside. It was clearly a trap, but its effect was ...

The infinity dungeon 102

Chapter 102

Johanne had an idea. Michael had been rather irritated with what had happened to him in the dungeon and was looking quite irritable still. So, she thought, perhaps she could work on some of the things he had asked her to do in passing but never got done, to soothe his mind. She was after all, Silver-rank now, and with the new rank came all sorts of new powers. Her magic had soared, and she had begun to master some of the esoteric elements, forgoing integration within her aur...

The infinity dungeon 101

Chapter 101

Michael had a problem. Something was happening to his [Unity] skill inside his Sanctum, and he didn’t like the sight of it. Just like when [Unity] had tried to evolve before, the skill was now drawing massive amounts of magical energies towards itself. Unlike before, however, the draw of Qi was truly enormous, coming in three separate flows from three regions of Michael’s body. As it did so, he felt himself deflate, like a balloon being drained of air, but it wasn’t ai...

The infinity dungeon 100

100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chapter 100

Michael returned to the fourth floor with Drullkrin in tow soon after he finished talking to Johanne. He knew that once he left the dungeon, he would have to deal with the chest anomaly, along with Travis and a couple of teams, but before that he wanted to scout the floor a bit and, why not, perhaps even beat it in the process.

This time, instead of stopping by the hut as he had last time, they continued down the road. Michael noticed, as...

The infinity dungeon 99

Little heads up: I changed a little bit of chapter 97. Here is the updated version for all of you who read as soon as the chapters come out

Somewhere, an entity existed with the sole purpose of overseeing a particular instance of the Infinity Dungeon. When Michael entered the dark staircase leading to the fourth floor, this entity was immediately roused from its semi-dormant state—one could say that it was only running the basest of subroutines because there wasn't much activity comin...

Chapter 98

Patreon readers won't notice it, but midway through the chapter, after the insight, the way he sees the blue boxes changes. This is due to the insight itself.

There was one thing that had to be done before anything else, and that was evolving the Unity skill. Otherwise, Michael could be losing a lot of potential experience since he wasn’t sure what happened to the experience he gained by doing things while the skill was capped at level ten. The problem was that when he sat do...

The infinity dungeon 97

Chapter 97

Michael was lounging on a reclining chair with his sister, watching the stars, when he got a message. It was from Travis, informing him that it was time they studied the chest anomaly the OA wanted them to neutralize. They were organizing the teams and the scientists, ready to move out first thing tomorrow.

Which means, Michael thought, it’s no better time than now to go explore the fourth floor. It would give him the necessary mindset to be rea...