Fate/Beyond Chapter 7: Gphly's Crypt. (Patreon)

'Sword? Check. Spear? Check. Mace? Check. Padded clothes? Check. Dagger? Check.'

Currently, I was doing a thorough examination and inventory check for my equipment for a special reason.

I was going to claim the first quest reward.

Which meant that I would be going to a dungeon. I finally felt confident enough to do so. My body was stronger than most professional athletes. I knew some ways to defend myself and was capable of healing myself.

And seeing how this dungeon comes from the first quest it shouldn't be too difficult to complete. Regardless it is better to be over-prepared than to be under-prepared.

So over the month that I spent studying magic, I also made several orders through Natalie to procure items. Mainly cold weapons and thick padded clothing.

I also made rations using mealcraft that boosted stamina and vitality. Enough of them to last an entire week. I wasn't taking chances.

Now that I had packed up everything I stuffed them in the duffle bags and left the mansion. Saying I would be gone for a bit for business. Refusing to elaborate further I moved to the forest, and once I was far away enough I pulled up the menu.

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|Quests|

[ You are a wizard(magus) Harry! ] - [Difficulty - E](completed)

Description: Take your first actual step into the world of magecraft!

Requirements: Learn 3 different Magecrafts

Reward: Random Mystic Code(Minor), 1x Dungeon Ticked: Gphyl's Crypt

[Claim reward?]

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Mentally I picked yes and surprisingly another screen appeared. Unlike the first quest I finished.

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Pick reward:

-Random offensive mystic code.

-Random defensive mystic code.

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Now, this choice was important. A defensive one will basically give me a better chance of survival and on the other hand, the offensive one will give me a better chance at completion.

For defense, I already have my healing spells and my recovery bars. I can also dodge attacks to mitigate damage. But an armor or the like could make all the difference between life or death.

On the other hand, my attacking options are quite limited. Because of my FUCKING SHIT GARBAGE PISS magic circuits I can't really use any offensive spells meaningly even if my regeneration rate is good. Using a gandr on the enemy will most likely hurt me more than it will hurt them. At least I can maintain reinforcement for a minute or so before straining.

You know what they say... The best defense is a good offense!

With barely any hesitation I picked the first option and prayed to as many gods as I could think of while the system gave me my reward. And all of a sudden a mace appeared in my hand. Black, heavy, and tough, made out of pure metal except for the handle that was wrapped in leather.

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Reinforced Chilling Mace

A mace made out of ordinary steel and enchanted by several runes

Options:

-Chilling: Drains heat from targets when in contact

-Reinforced: The durability in enhanced why runes.

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Perfect, this thing was practically perfect for what I was going into. Plus it is inscribed with runes that I could maybe decipher and replicate later when I'm good enough. But how do I store this without freezing my stuff? It's not like the system gave me an inventory.

Sighing I retrieved a towel from my duffel bag and wrapped it around the mace, which instantly started freezing the towel. And then I chucked it into my bag. After that came the second reward which didn't appear in my hand but instead in my system.

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Dungeon Ticket: Gphyl's Crypt - [ Difficulty: F - F+ ]

A ticket allowing access to the instance dungeon: Gphyl's Crypt. The Crypt of Gphyl, Crypt of an insane necromancer of old who lost his mind. To use this ticket the user needs to be in the vicinity of a decently large graveyard.

Usage conditions: Graveyard(medium - large)

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'Great. Just groovy. So I came all the way to this forest for nothing.'

Groaning in irritation once more he pulled out his phone and looked up the nearest graveyard near him after which he trekked back to civilization and got on a taxi and arrived at the graveyard.  After a bit of searching, he found an isolated location within 50 meters of the graveyard.

Having found the perfect location he opened the menu and with bated breath used the

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When he opened his eyes he was in a completely different place. A musty and old smell invaded his nostrils as his eyes adjusted to the lack of light. He was inside of a wide and tall hallway decorated by decrepit pillars that several torches rested on, giving off light.

The only noises that could be heard were the crackling of the torches, faint groans, and the distant trousling of bones.

Soon after he was transported to the dungeon another quest was issued to him.

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Quest: Instance Dungeon - Gphyl's Crypt - [ Difficulty: F - F+ ]

You have arrived at the Crypt of Gphly, an insane necromancer of old who sealed himself inside a crypt and practiced his necromancy until his demise. To escape you must defeat him.

Clear Condition: Defeat Gphly

Rewards:

• Gphyl's Research into Necromancy
• 1x Minor skill upgrade

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'Fuck, so I can't even leave until I kill the bbeg huh? Good thing I brought provisions. Seeing how this corridor is sealed off, it would be smart to leave my bags here for the time being to not haul extra weight in the certainty that I get into a fight.'

Going to the end of the corridor near him he dropped the bags down before taking out the mace and Kevlar gloves out. Unlike a sword, a mace should work on basically any opponent. Easily dislodging one from one of the pillars Noah also grabbed a torch for better visibility. With a torch on his left and a mace on his right Noah advanced.

There were a lot of cobwebs and the like around the crypt, as well as bones and dried blood on the walls. Also vases, but breaking them, unfortunately, didn't drop any arrows or potions. There were also several vaults inside the walls which were suspiciously empty. Execpt a few skeletons.

The mausoleum itself was also unbelievably large, to the point where no one would bother constructing something like this. So it seemed like the system either distorted or created these to be more dungeonlike.

*Tak* *Tak* *Tak*

Suddenly Noah stopped moving and turned on his heel to face his back.

*Swish!*

And came face to face with a rusty dagger being thrust toward him. Quickly reacting with his battle senses he crouched to avoid the blade and twisted his body as he slammed his mace into the perpetrator's chest.

*Crack!* *Bang!*

The mace shattered the enemy's ribcage and sent it flying toward the wall of the crypt. Now not in immediate mortal danger, Noah got to look at his attacker. Raising his torch slightly he saw a skeleton with its chest completely caved in. With its dagger a few meters away from where it lay, presumably from the force of Noah's blow.

The skeleton was an off-white color and was slightly shorter than the average person. It didn't hold even a shred of clothing or equipment except for its rusty dagger. But under Noah's gaze, something strange happened.

The skeleton started dissolving into bluish notes of white along with its weapon. Leaving behind only a small crystal with a blue hue. Confirming nothing else was in his surroundings Noah bent down and examined the crystal.

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Mana Crystal(small)

A small crystal of mana condensed into stable material form. It can be used for a variety of purposes.

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Upon seeing the skeleton dissolve and leave this mana crystal behind Noah could only think of one thing as his eye repeatedly twitched.

'This really is leaning into the game aspect huh? The mob disappears and leaves behind loot inside a dungeon. Unfortunately now the only thing missing is an inventory.'

Regardless of his thoughts he saw the potential use of the crystal and put it in his backpack before continuing. Paying even more attention to his surroundings to not get ambushed again.

After a short bit of walking, he came across a room that housed three skeletons. And inside the room, except the usual stuff like coffins bones and jazz was a goddam chest. And as soon as his eyes landed on the skeletons with the intent to inspect their panels appeared in front of his eyes.

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Animated Skeleton

Classification: Undead

An ordinary skeleton raised by a necromancer to do its bidding.

Statistics:

Strength: [F]

Endurance: [F-]

Agility: [F]

Mana: [Null]

Luck: [F-]

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If the system was to be believed then the parameters of the skeletons were far below Noah's. To the point where they wouldn't really be a significant threat if not for their weapons. Regardless, caution never killed anybody, hopefully.

Snuffing his torch out Noah silently crept up toward the wandering skeletons. Once he reached behind one he swiftly rushed forward and slammed his mace to the back of its head, crushing it completely. Attracted by the noise the second skeleton raised its blade to swing at Noah but he leaned out of range just as the blade came down and front-kicked the skeleton hard enough to throw it to the ground.

The third one tried charging him with its knife raised but since the mace outranged it Noah simply swung and batted the knife out of the skeleton's hand before caving its face in. Before turning to the downed skeleton and stepping on its skull until it got crushed.

And as the skeletons left the stage 2 of them left behind similarly sized mana crystals and one left behind a rusty dagger. After picking those up he moved to the chest and busted it open.

Inside was a pair of glasses that gave night vision and a reinforced sword. Noah wore the glasses, and then ripped of a long strip of leather from one of the decorations, which he used to wrap around the sword and attach it to his belt.

After which he noticed a new notification on his menu.

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Undead Hunter - (4/50)

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It seemed like this dungeon wasn't going to end anytime soon.