Dungeon Resex: Chapter 4

**** soon realized exactly how useful a real shovel would have been. He slowly made progress with his makeshift tool, it wasn't ideal. But it wasn't like he could afford to be picky. It was better than the alternative.

He tried to stay positive about the whole matter. When he was hungry, he ate. He rested when he got tired. And he continued to dig. It wasn't like there was anything else to do trapped underground. This was his battle to fight.

'All this loose dirt is really getting on my nerves though.'

At a certain point, the amount of dirt that he had dug out started getting in the way. He needed a path open back to the well so he could breathe, but he was quickly running out of room. And lugging the earth back to the well through the narrow tunnel was a task in and of itself.

But a sudden idea struck him.

'Maybe I can fit this in my inventory?'

He couldn't just grab a handfuls of dirt and start stuffing it in his inventory, that didn't seem to be how it functioned. But if it was in a form that the system would accept...

'What if I packed it into a a ball of dirt? A dirtball?'

It was worth a shot. **** took a big handful of loose dirt that had accumulated next to him and started packing it into a spherical shape. It was an experiment, but it wasn't like he had anything else to do down here by himself. Once he had a ball ready, he opened his inventory and tried placing the dirtball inside.

<Inventory>

Dirtball (1)

It worked!

A wave of elation swept through ****'s body. He went back to work. Being able to immediately dispose of the loose dirt drastically reduced the amount of time it took to make progress with his tunnel, and had solved the problem he had in one fell swoop. He continued tirelessly.

He lost track of time. But it didn't matter in the dark. He tried to keep calm and relaxed as he continued to dig. He ate and slept and did his business in the tunnel. A makeshift toilet was a simple task for him, since he could simply dig a small hole, relieve himself, and use his purify ability on the waste before covering it with dirt.

He didn't know exactly how it worked, but doing so immediately removed any smells that could have potentially posed a problem. He wasn't sure how much time passed while he worked in the tunnels, his only real gauge of progress he could readily see was the steadily increasing number of dirtballs that piled up in his inventory.

<Inventory>

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

......

'I must be going crazy. Why am I feeling a sense of accomplishment looking at an inventory full of piles of dirt?'

Being alone in the dark alone for so long was starting to mess with ****'s head. He wasn't sure if he was starting to go mad or not. Being alone for so long, he started finding joy even in the routine act of packing a dirt ball in complete darkness.

Periodically, he checked the length of the tunnel he had manage to dig, and he realized he had made quite a bit of progress.

'This might actually work. Looks like I can do things when I set my mind to it.'

It was like **** had discovered a natural talent that he had no idea he possessed. It was just unfortunate that it was for something as mundane as digging a hole.

At that exact moment, a bright light started radiating from ****'s body, exploding outwards to illuminate the tunnel.

<Pioneering Achievement Accomplished!>

=First of your kind, an artisan of dirt packing.=

=Reward: New Skill Gained: <Dirt Packing>

"What the hell? First of my kind?"

He opened his status screen reflexively.

<Status Screen>

Name : ^&@$#」 (Error)

Health : 88/100 (%)

Satiety : 65/100 (%)

Skills : Purification (Beginner: Level 7)

Skills : Dirt Packing (Level 1) NEW

"A new skill?"

He stared at his status screen with disbelief. No matter how many times he looked, it was right there. He had made do all this time with nothing but his purification skill, and now that the game was over for him, he unlocked a second ability. Strange name aside.

Something was different about this ability as well. Unlike his main skill, Purification; it didn't appear to have any mastery levels associated with it. Using his index finger like a cursor, **** highlighted the new ability, pulling up additional information about it.

<Skill>

Dirt Packing (Level 1) NEW

• You can pack dirt, quickly & efficiently. Your packed dirt will be bigger, denser and of a higher quality as your skill level increases.

'What the hell kind of a skill is this?'

He didn't know to laugh or cry. His first ability had been purely a support ability, and having gotten a second, it was even worse. Not that purification wasn't useful, but in a world where every step was full of danger and you were at risk of being some monster's dinner every night, it would have been nice to learn something that could have contributed a little more to his ability to survive an encounter with one of the Dungeon's creatures.

He could see how he gained the ability though.

An ability learned purely through repetition. Come to think of it, **** had seen Ryu learn a new skill in a similar way. **** had made the volumetric equivalent of a midsized trailer's worth of dirt balls. Thanks to that, his hands had swollen to almost twice their usual size, and were a mass of calluses. Blister after blister had burst and hardened until the entirety of his hands had turned into one giant callus.

The newly learned ability was a result of pure repetition and effort.

... it was a little sad to think about, actually. No matter. A new ability was a new ability. And it was one that was perfectly suited to what he was doing right now.

'Lets give it a go then?'

Focusing on the newly learned ability, he reached for the mound of dirt next to him and activated the skill.

"Dirt Pack."

Something completely unexpected happened. He had expected the ability to function more like a passive skill. A general improvement in his ability to pack dirt into a ball. Instead, a ball of dirt appeared suddenly in his hands. One that rivaled the best of his attempts thus far. It was a perfectly packed dense sphere of earth. More importantly, it took no effort whatsoever.

Holding down his rising excitement, **** repeated the skill a few more times.

"Dirt Pack. Dirt Pack. Dirt pack."

Each time, a sphere of densely packed earth appeared in his hands, the loose earth magically transferring itself onto his palms before forming into a tightly packed sphere. The magical pressure was enough to create a grinding noise as the loose dirt granules were ground up and packed impossibly tight, creating an almost smooth, claylike dirt ball.

"Okay, that's actually kind of cool."

Each use of the ability created another earthen ball. Each one a perfect sphere of the same size, almost as if they were produced in a factory, and not made by hand.

It was a welcome turn of events. Things were about to get a lot easier. **** smiled to himself as he deposited the newly made dirt balls in his inventory. If the progress he made so far was comparable to an amateur hobbyist making something at home, his new ability turned him into something akin to a professional artisan creating something in a workshop.

But having a new ability meant little if he didn't use it. **** grabbed the makeshift-shovel and got back to work. He still had a long way to go... but a thought made him pause once more.

'Wait a second...'

Another idea came to him.

'If I can pack dirt without actually touching it, what's stopping me from skipping the first step entirely? It's all dirt, isn't it?'

This really needed to be tested. He dropped the iron spike and gingerly reached for the wall of the tunnel he had been working on. Touching the wall of the the tunnel, he activated the skill once more.

"Dirt Pack."

The wall that his hand had been touching dissappeared, only to reappear in a chunk in his hands, reformed into a perfect dirt sphere.

"Holy shit."

The sphere followed his hands out of the wall, tracing his hands, following him as he moved his hands away.

It fucking worked. A wave of euphoria washed over ****, he could barely contain his excitement. He wasn't just some artisan... no. His new skill was akin to unlocking the industrial revolution of dirt packing.

He was now a human backhoe. He dropped the iron spike that had taken him this far, and got ready to get to work. Really get to work.

"Dirt Pack. Dirt pack. Dirt pack!"

The ability was exactly what he needed. All he needed to do was touch the wall before him and activate the skill, and a perfect sphere of densely packed dirt came off in his hands that he could immediately transfer to his inventory. It was as if the tunnel wall before him melted away right before his eyes.

'This is... amazing!'

More importantly, it was FUN. He had been painstakingly digging the tunnel, one inch at a time using subpar tools, his newfound skill had turned a trolly ride into a lamborghini. He couldn't stop himself, and he didn't want to. Before he realized it, he had dug a a massive tunnel leading from the pitfall trap.

<Inventory>

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99), Dirtball (99),

Dirtball (99)

...

The tunnel was no longer a narrow, winding affair. A wide, spacious, well packed tunnel stretched behind him. And it had taken no effort whatsoever.

Moving with confidence, ****'s work now really started picking up speed. Gone were the days of gingerly testing the tunnel with an iron spike to make sure there wouldn't be a cave in. After a little experimentation, **** realized that removing earth using his new ability meant that the remaining earth stayed stable, almost as if the removed portion were simply erased, the structural integrity of the remaining earth stayed stable.

Since the possibility of a cave in was greatly reduced, that meant that he could make the tunnel taller, and wider. Letting him stand up and stretch his legs even as he worked. **** started digging with confidence, and his digging skill continued to improve with repeated use.

• Ching!

[<Dirt Pack> skill evolved to level 2.]

[<Dirt Pack> skill evolved to level 3.]

[<Dirt Pack> skill evolved to level 4.]

A skill could be leveled with repeated use. As his skill level continued to improve, the balls of dirt **** pulled from the wall started getting bigger, and denser. But even with his vastly improved digging speed, he had yet to reach the surface.

'Goddamn it, why do I keep getting caught under a stone layer?'

There was one problem with his newfound ability. The only affected material was 'dirt'. Specifically dirt. Try as he might, he couldn't get his ability to affect anything resembling stone. Which was a problem because the bottom layer of the final ruins lay on a bedrock of solid stone, and many of the areas were covered in a layer of thick stone tiles. If he had any combat abilities that could create enough **** to break through the stone he would have managed to escape, but it didn't apply to **** with his two support abilities.

His only option was to keep digging until he found a patch of dirt he could tunnel through, but so far he had been striking out. At this point, he was starting to wonder if the only way he would be able to dig himself out was by digging his way out from under the final ruins entirely.

It seemed like he had been digging for an eternity. Some of the stone started to look familiar, making him wonder if he had not somehow looped around by mistake. Periodically he would run into an older tunnel that he had dug, confirming his suspicions.

It wasn't easy to figure out where he was this deep underground, it wasn't as if he had a compass to guide him, and in the darkness of the tunnels it was easy to get disoriented. He started to grow weary as time went on. He tried to stay positive, but positivity by itself could only take him so far.

He was exhausted.

"Motherfucker! Goddamn it!!"

The pent up rage inside of him exploded without warning. **** found himself screaming in frustration and the sheer anger translated into a **** of will. He started using his new ability in a rapid fire motion, huge chunks of earth came away in his hands as he blasted the surrounding walls with his dirt pack skill.

In his fit he didn't notice that the space around him was getting wider and wider, until it got to the point that he could no longer reach any of the walls around him. Eventually, his rage petered out and he came to his senses.

".... Huh?"

He couldn't reach any of the walls in the tunnel anymore. He swung his arms around in the darkness, trying to get his bearings, but soon gave up and decided to pull a torch and a flint out from his inventory to better investigate his surroundings.

The well oiled torch burst into flames, illuminating **** and his handiwork. He had managed to create a decent sized cavern using nothing but his newfound ability.

"This... this isn't half bad?"

After what seemed like an eternity stuck in cramped earthen tunnels, the wide open space he now occupied was a vast improvement. And it helped calm ****'s frazzled nerves. **** realized it might not be a bad idea to take a short break to regather himself before he snapped again.

'I should decorate this space a little. Something to break up the monotony wouldn't hurt.'

He planted the lit torch in the ground to illuminate the general area and got to work evening out the walls of the cavern. Feeling creative, he decided to shape the corners into a rounded curve pleasing to the eye. Finding the results to be agreeable, he decided to go further, taking a few dirt balls out of his inventory and reforming them into a long rectangular shape.

'This is a bed. Not bad for a first attempt.'

He scratched his chin for a little while and made a dirt pillow to complement the bed before laying down. It was... helpful. He could feel himself relaxing a little more.

With the emotional exhaustion setting in, he soon realized how hungry he was. He pulled a strip of beef jerky out of his inventory reflexively and raised it to his mouth and found himself starting to get frustrated again.

'I'm not a damn hedgehog. I don't want to gnaw on food in the dark. I want to eat like a human being!'

Rolling out of bed, he pulled out a few more dirt balls from his inventory, and started shaping them into a squareish table and a chair.

'I'm eating on a goddamn table, not crouched on the ground like some kind of animal.'

He even made plates. It felt a little like being a stone age caveman, but it still felt... human.

He even made a point of pulling out a grilled fish fillet for a little variety. Sitting at a table with food on a plate reminded him of home. He pulled a knife out of his inventory and used it as an utensil to cut up the grilled fish fillet before raising it to his mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

It was truly delicious. He could feel moisture running down his face in small rivulets.
It was... salty. Went well with the grilled fish.

This was the thing to do. If it felt like his emotions would overwhelm him, he should sit down and eat to remind himself of what it felt like to be a human again.

[What in the nine hells do you think you're doing, Mister Dead-man?]

"Goddamn it. What the hell?"

The bunny guide was floating right next to him, mouth agape. Apparently unable to make sense of the absurdity he was witnessing.

***