Unfortunately in the three hundred years that it's been here, no one has beaten the dungeon, and travelers like you, who have the ability to resurrect after death, only have one chance and one chance only to get on that s.h.i.+p and attempt to clear it." Mack explained.

"but even with the guaranteed death, more and more people still kept coming, I. an attempt to try out their luck and win the s.h.i.+p. So in response to that, the pirates in charge of quadrant 1 decided to start collecting fees from others, should they want to challenge the dungeon. And since everyone that goes in there dies, it made them very rich." Jack added.

"Don't do it, too dangerous." Darke said.

And that shocked me, because those were the first words he's spoken since we've met. But there was no way I was not going to challenge this dungeon, because I knew that without a doubt even if I failed, I could just as always go get another one. I turned to Jack and Zack and said to them.

"I need your help with something. I need you to find me a very good blacksmith, an engineer, and a systems a.n.a.lyst, preferably someone with hacking capabilities, who is very good with all sort of computers. I would prefer if either one of this guys are young, and as trust worthy as possible. Also make sure they're willing to travel too."

All four of them looked at me with confusion, not at all sure why I wanted people like that. But Jack and Zack gave me a simple nod as they turned around and left, blending into the crowd as they went to carry out my impromptu recruitment mission.

"You two wait here for me, and stay out of sight if you don't mind. This place is not the kind of place you would like to draw attention from." I said Darke and Mack.

"Understood." Darke answered as he and Mack went to join the onlookers, blending into the crowd so fast that, by the time I just blinked my eyes, I had no idea where they were.

I shrugged my shoulders, not at all worried about the intricacies of elven stealth. I made my way and joined the long queue of people going to their deaths. Of course any one of the guys ahead of me, could actually clear the dungeon, and then, it would mean I was here for nothing. So all I could do was selfishly pray that they all kept dying.

There were 9 people in front of me, however the line seemed to be moving really fast as most of them had their dead bodies thrown out of the s.h.i.+p in under five minutes. Daunting as such a sight looked, n.o.body looked like they wanted to back down, they were determined to see this through to the end.

Eventually it got to my turn, with the person ahead of me not even lasting five minutes before his badly mangled body and decapitated head came flying out of the s.h.i.+p, splattering blood all over the pavement and some unlucky onlookers, who seemed to be taking bets about how long each new challenger would last.

"It's a 100 silver dollars to register." A voice said to me as I got closer.

All I could see was a floating tablet, probably an AI companion responsible for taking the entry fee. I raised my wrist, and my communication's device beeped. After agreeing and signing a couple of doc.u.ments to facilitate the transfer, I paid the fee and stepped into the s.h.i.+p through the huge hole at it's side.

[You have entered Single player dungeon: The cursed s.h.i.+p of death/Timer: 4:58:11]

Okay so this dungeon has a timer, and I have no less than five hours to beat it. I've not experienced a dungeon like this before, unless it's the kind that needed players to beat the fastest clear time. Usually that means there would be rewards from the system, and whatever guild or player could clear the dungeon, they were guaranteed to have some bragging rights.

WHOOs.h.!.+ THUNK!

"Jesus Christ!"

I just got attacked by a big weird cyborg with an Axe for an arm. But whatever this guy was, he was more machine than man, and he had blades sticking out of his body. His red eyes gleamed as he powered over me at almost nine foot tall, and his skin seemed have boil like protrusions over it.

He attacked again, moving a whole lot faster than you would expect someone of his size to be able to do. I grabbed Sky and jumped back a bit, flapping my wings from speed as I shot an arrow at his body. A force field appeared, and the arrow bounced of it's surface.

I was dumbfounded, how the h.e.l.l were you supposed to beat something that had and impenetrable defense. No time to think though, as I ducked under a Wilde swing, and moved forward to slam my shoulder into it's mid section. The nine foot cyborg was actually picked up and thrown halfway across what I now understood was an engine room.

So that's how it works. Weapons attacks would be defended, especially projectiles. If I wanted to beat this thing, I had to pound it to death with my fist. Though I'm sure I could probably penetrate that s.h.i.+eld just be relying on the wind mark ability of Sky's bow form, but it would take too much time and include of lot of differing variables.

[You have attacked cursed cyborg pirate(elite)/Grade: Mortal/ hidden Grade: none/ level: 150/ Hp: 910/1000]

Okay? Why is it's health so small, and would a simple shoulder bash throw it almost five meters away from me, and deal 90 whole damage? But the answer was right in front of me. My armor had a specific bonus that related to physical strength, which means I was probably strong enough to give captain America or Spiderman a run for their money.

GROOOOAAAAR

"I know, I know! I hate your face too."

I charged at it, ducking under another wild swing as I slide in between his legs, and punched at his knees. There was a loud creak as his right leg bent sideways awkwardly, forcing him to lean on a dingy looking pipe, that seems to have seen better days. I got back up to my feet, and threw a punch right at the middle of his spine.

[Critical hit – 1500 Hp, you have slain cursed cyborg pirate level 150. All Exp rewards are deferred until trial or revelations is over.]

That was easier than I expected, but I don't think I'm out of the woods yet. I could hear shuffling sounds around the engine room, so there should probably be more of these cyborgs around. I had to sneak around and avoid battle as much as possible until I can figure out what the particular aim for this dungeon is. It can't just be about killing every cyborg in sight.

"Stealth".

Contrary to my expectations as I didn't turn invisible. This b.l.o.o.d.y skill description was incredibly misleading. All I felt was that my footsteps were more silent, and the shadows in the engine room seemed to wrap around my body as I moved.

I moved right, picking my steps as quietly as possible, going down the hallway until I came to a bend. I turned and saw that it sort of led into an open area. It was circular and right in the middle of it, there was some sort of giant black pearl that was floating between two ma.s.sive magnets. The entire engine room seemed to be built around it, which means this should or would probably be the s.h.i.+p's power source.

But it can't be that easy can it. I counted six cyborgs, and finally there was some sort mermaid, cyborg man, who was floating above ground, as if the very air itself was made of water.

[Coritane Water Jacker(Boss)/ Grade: Earth/ Hidden Grade: none/ Level: 150]

"I can smell your stench elf! It is so thick and revolting that my skin itches in annoyance." Coritane spoke out, completely das.h.i.+ng my delusions of being a super spy stealth master.

" ow that's just rude. I'll have you know that I shower everyday. Of course some times I'm just to lazy to go into a bathroom, so all I can do is just laze around and eat. I especially like fish, they're so tasty you know, especially when you grill them. Mmmmmmmm Mama! It's like a slice from heaven."

Was he mad, yep he definitely was mad. And since this was not like ordinary VRMMORPG where you have to beat the boss's minions before you kick his a.s.s, Coritane could break protocol and attack. And he did, so fast that I didn't even see it coming.

A stream of water slammed into my figure and threw me at the wall. It hurt, but not as much as I expected it to. Then the same stream of water grabbed me, and trapped me in a water prison of sorts.

"Now you'll drown for you affronts against the fish people! And I'll enjoy watching you drown."

Oh no! I can't breathe. My chest was getting heavy and I was rapidly running out of air. I clawed at the walls of the water prison, trying everything I could to break through, but I couldn't. I couldn't fail here! Not to the smug grin of this weird merman. But I was helpless, I was dying, no! I'm…....I'm.....I'm only kidding!

But Coritane here didn't need to know that. I could swim in this thing with ease for eight hours straight. After all, I had the body parts of a fish, but no one but me and Sky knows that.

I kept up with my pretense, and three minutes later I died. Coritane wanted to be sure, so he left me within the prison for another ten minutes before releasing it and unceremoniously letting me drop to the metal floor below me with a bang. I had to admit, that hurt.

He turned around to walk/swim/float away as he gave orders to his six cyborg subordinates. "Throw his disrespectful corpse back outside…..ahhhh!"

"You know you should really make sure that the person you want to kill is truly dead before you make plans to ditch the body."

I said to him as I got up, both my hands wrapped tightly around what I now realized was a metallic fish tail. It was like some sort of prosthetic that helped him swim around above water like a fish. Was this guy really a merman.

His cyborg subordinates, seeing that their boss was captured, made a beeline straight for me, hoping to save him. But I had other plans and none of them, especially Coritane here was going to like it. Because I could almost guarantee, that it's going to hurt.....a lot!