MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

A man and his fearless pet wolf were braving the dimensional corridor leading to a new world. 

The little one's tail kept wagging. This was why it had decided to follow its master! This was way more fun than playing alone in the forest! Then they reached the end; there stood a portal crackling with orange energy. 

The little wolf gulped loudly, with its master chuckling. 

"Once we cross this, we will officially be in another world. Are you ready?"

It enthusiastically nodded as it pondered: what would it be this time? It had been shocked earlier upon seeing a man fighting rocks with fire and turning them into something called a dagger. 

It followed its master inside, resolving to remain dignified and not to overreact….

WOOOSHHH! 

The world seemed to be flip upside down over and over again, shaking way too much! The feeling of world-hopping was hard to describe. Perhaps the closest was this: POV, you're in a bar, the bartender is crazily shaking a drink to mix it, and you're the fucking drink! 

[Entered Dimensional Dungeon Fox Grove!]

[First Run of the Day: Bonus Loot!] 

[Difficulty = Normal] 

"Blergg!" On the side, the little wolf was already vomiting. 

"Woo!" (Fearful) 

It looked behind them toward the entrance portal, deep fear in its eyes. What the hell was that?! There were some things that even the courage stat couldn't protect against. 

"Don't worry about it. Everyone reacts the same during their first time." — well, bared the vomiting. 

"Woo." (Understanding) 

Jack turned to inspect their surroundings. There were plenty of trees, a bright orange sky, vibrant green vegetation, and fresh air. There wasn't any sun to be seen while the light came from the sky itself. It truly felt otherworldly. 

He couldn't help but draw a deep breath as he closed his eyes in satisfaction. He had always loved dungeons, especially in Infinite. It meant braving challenges, alone or with friends, and getting OP rewards. 

"Alright, let's do this! We have to hurry and complete it before reset." Jack energetically led the way. 

Now, how was one supposed to clear this thing again? There were two items to aim for as far as loot was concerned. He would have to pry both from the corpses of their respective owners.

As they got going, they found the forest to be relatively peaceful. But, this was nothing more than an illusion. 

Jack could already see plenty of bushes wriggling so very slightly. This whole place was filled with hiding foxes. To put it simply, it was an airhead's nightmare! 

Actually, even scouts would find this place a massive pain in the ass— well, until they were used to it. 

In the outside world, a bush shaking meant a single fox. Here, there could be a party of them busy doing….well whatever people usually did in bushes. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) 

"Be careful, see there, there and there? All of those contain enemies. We need to avoid them." Jack whispered to his companion. 

The little wolf nodded solemnly. It could feel how dangerous this was from his soul link with its master. This was the charm of advanced soul contracts. It came with increased information sharing. 

The two of them very carefully progressed. They would walk, sneak low to the ground and even crawl behind cover. 

This realm was actually perfect for training one's sneaking skills. Contrary to popular belief, such ability wasn't just useful for roguish professions. Everyone ought to learn!

But sometimes, confrontation was unavoidable. Such was the case at that moment. 

Jack couldn't help but click his tongue as he saw four goddamn foxes in front. They were playfully wrestling between two large trees, guarding a path they had to take to keep progressing. 

"Woo!" (Tense) 

But, so many enemies at once was definitely an issue. It would create a troublesome situation with him getting pinned down until he defeated the first one. 

The issue was that four opponents would considerably lower his damage potential because he would have to spend way more effort into blocking and avoiding. This, in turn, meant that the fight would be long and that he'd have to block way more hits. 

It was a vicious circle as the lower his HP got and the more careful he would have to be, further lowering his damage output. Then it was back to square one. He almost laughed at the absurdity. 

"This is gonna be a pain," Jack sighed. 

"Woo" (Worried) 

"We need to be able to defeat the first fox almost instantly. But such a thing is nearly impossible…except if…Alright, I may just have a plan!" 

"Woo!" (Celebrating) 

"I'll need your help to act as a distraction." 

"Woo!" (Count on me!) 

Thus began the plan titled: how to murder four foxes for blocking the fucking way! 

The four foxes minded their own business when they suddenly heard a sound that made them jump in confusion and fright. 

— Awooo! — 

What?! There was a wolf…here?! How was this possible?! They had long forgotten what a wolf even looked like, but they knew how ferocious it could be! 

They instantly got ready for a fight as they warily checked the direction the sound had come from. But, there was no scary powerful wolf to be seen. Nope, there was only a tiny insignificant-looking gray furry creature. 

The foxes growled in anger. Such a puny thing had spooked them?! They would make it pay! 

But just as they were ready to make a move, death came from above. Jack was falling with incredible momentum, making a plunge attack, Cluckinator first. 

In normal circumstances, the foxes would have realized that he was there. They would have heard him. Then, they would have easily dodged. But, they had been too distracted by the wolf howl! 

— BAM! — 

- 13

- 7

- 8 

It's only then that they realized that they were under attack. Jack hurried as the success or failure of this fight would depend mainly on this moment. Before they could react, he did one last attack combo! 

-7

-2

-8

-7

-2 

The damage had been enough. The creature wasn't dead yet, but it was already in critical condition.

The foxes took revenge, biting at him. Jack blocked three attacks but had to let the last one through to kill the wounded fox. 

His HP went down, but he would survive :

-1

-1

-1

-4 

HP 23/30 

Jack sighed in relief. He could manage three foxes if he were cautious with his block. After all, missing the timing for one attack meant losing 13% of his HP instead of the usual 3%. It was a big deal! 

After many more blocks, slashes, and bashes, he finally managed to kill another enemy. He had lost 9 HP in the process, now at 14/30 HP. 

Then he got rid of one more: HP 8/30 

Then he finally killed the last one: HP 5/30 

Had he not defeated that first fox lightning-fast, he would have needed to consume a potion. But, there was an issue with drinking healing medicine: potions were sweet and fragrant! 

Using a potion? Do you want foxes, because that's how you get foxes! Actually, not just foxes— a shitload of them! 

This little detail was bound to cost many Newbies their lives. How much would they cry after not only getting devoured by countless foxes but also wasting their hard-earned money? 

"Woo!" (Victorious!)

Jack smiled wryly, seeing the little wolf's joyous expression. He quickly got to work, gathering the remains before leading the way again. 

"We'll meet someone soon, but don't be surprised. It will be an ally….well, I think." Jack warned his companion. 

He still had to be careful because quests and dungeons were often different for the first player to clear them. It often included additional tasks and rewards that the masses would never know about. (Like saving an NPC) 

The two carefully passed through the area the foxes had been guarding. 

If one were to observe the surroundings with attention, one could notice the remnants of a road here. This place used to be a merchant road passing straight through the grove! In fact, his increased movement speed buff would sometimes proc at some spots. 

Not long after, they were confronted with a magical yet sorrowful sight.

In front of them was a village, one that had most likely been full of life at some point. Now, it was completely overrun by the vegetation. Some mounds had been houses in the past, with chimneys sometimes poking through the grass. 

There remained a half-broken sign near the entrance, valiantly struggling to remain standing. It had somehow endured time, weather, and foxes judging by the bite marks. 

<H-p-y Vi--a-e of Pripyta>

Happy was it? Happiness was long gone here, even if the name had somehow survived. How sad that it was all that remained of it. 

The little wolf looked at the whole scene puzzled. It felt like it had seen something similar before, but it couldn't put its paw on it. 

"This place is similar to the New Leaf village I brought you to. But, this one is destroyed." Jack explained. 

"Woo!" (Realization) 

Jack couldn't help but give a self derisive laugh. 

To him, this scene was a sad one. The people living here were gone and probably forgotten. It was the story of people who had tried their best only to fail at protecting even their homes. 

But to the little wolf, it was an entirely different scene. There was no sadness. There was only beauty. The vegetation was full of life, healthy and there were plenty of places to hide and sleep in. 

Sometimes, it was just a matter of perspective, eh? He could feel the little wolf's joy, and it was contagious. 

That's when his reverie was suddenly interrupted as a bipedal fox creature appeared at the horizon and headed straight their way. Friend or foe? They would soon know…

Creator's Thought

Dungeons in Infinite have no limit to their scale. A world can contain dungeons or a world can be a dungeon in itself. The Fox Grove is such an example. Before it became a dungeon, it was a world with a rich history. Honestly, there is only one criterion for a dungeon: it has to reset at fixed intervals.