Endless Dungeon: The Misadventures of a Gunslinger Who Can’t Shut Up [LitRPG/Dungeon] Chapter 3: Into The Dungeon

Noah's eyes narrowed at the glowing panel floating just above his hand, like a transparent screen out of a sci-fi movie.

It hovered there, full of numbers and words, yet sohow it felt real—tangible.

"So, I've got stat points? Like... actual, customizable stats? Dude, this is RPG wish-fulfillnt 101."

[Look at you, wide-eyed like a kid in a candy store. Yes, genius, you've got stat points.]

[Constitution: Adds 10 HP per point. More health, faster recovery, and way less drama when poison, crowd control, or brain-zappy spells co knocking. Basically, less dying.]

[Intelligence: Each point tosses 10 MP your way. Faster mana regen, juicier spells, and sharper thinking. You might even notice things for once. Miracles do happen.]

[Strength: 10 SP with every point. More stamina, harder punches, and—oh look—your muscles might actually start existing. Bonus: you're statistically hotter.]

[Dexterity: This one's for the sharpshooters. Better aim, faster reflexes, smoother reloads, and buttery gunplay. Try pulling the trigger and actually hitting sothing for once.]

[Agility: Run faster, dodge smoother, attack like you've had three shots of espresso. Even your bullets get a speed boost. Pew pew, speedster style.]

The stat screen pulsed again, as if glaring at him for lingering.

[But don't go full toddler mashing buttons yet, Noah. You pick your first skill before spending anything. Try not to ss it up.]

Noah cracked his knuckles, that familiar glint of chaos already dancing behind his grin.

"Okay, Princess Glitch, show the skill choices."

•••••

Skill Na: Ricochet Shot

Description: The user fires a bullet that bounces off surfaces, allowing them to hit enemies behind cover or strike multiple targets in tight spaces. Maximum of 2 ricochets.

Mana Cost: 1

•••••

Skill Na: Lead Rain

Description: The user rapidly empties their clip in a wide cone, suppressing enemies and forcing them to seek cover. Accuracy decreases, but area control increases.

Mana Cost: 1

•••••

Skill Na: Quickdraw

Description: The user's reaction ti is heightened. Grants a minor speed boost to weapon switching and the first shot fired after drawing a gun deals increased damage.

•••••

Skill Na: Mana Bullet.

Description: When out of ammo, the user's gun automatically fires mana rounds for skills or basic attacks. These rounds deal additional damage based on Intelligence stats but consu mana with each shot.

•••••

A faint glint lit up in his eyes—he'd made his choice, and the decision reeked of overconfidence.

"I'm locking in Mana Bullet. Ammo's basically going extinct out here. Mana bullets? Unlimited power, baby."

[For your information, you can buy bullets from NPC vendors. Like... actual shelves. With labels. And price tags.]

He clicked his tongue, head tilting as if her words personally offended his wallet.

"Yeah, and every coin I save is another coin I can toss into sothing with style. Like a black gun that screams 'main character energy.'"

Eve didn't flinch, didn't twitch. Her eyes moved slowly to him, then away, like she was too tired to explain why he was wrong but too stubborn to let him think he was right.

[You're impossible.]

Her sigh might as well have been digital static.

•••••

[SKILLS]

Tier 1: Mana Bullet.

•••••

Noah pulled up his stat screen with a casual flick of his finger, eyes scanning the glowing numbers dancing in front of him like a retro ga interface brought to life.

"Now, to allocate my available stat points."

[You might want to consider dumping those into Agility, Dexterity, and Intelligence. Gunslingers need to move like lightning, shoot like snipers, and twist like gymnasts. And since you picked a mana-hungry skill, Intelligence needs a little love too.]

"Yeah, no kidding. If my bullets are basically spell-laced mini explosions, then beefing up Intelligence isn't optional. It's damage insurance."

[Well, color mildly impressed. I was expecting a caveman response.]

"And I was expecting you to be a glorified pop-up ad. Guess we're both dealing with pleasant surprises."

Noah stood still for a mont, fingers hovering over the translucent panel in front of him.

The numbers floated in soft blue light, flickering as if they were aware of the change about to co. He didn't hesitate long. His thoughts were sharp, focused, for once not drifting off into chaotic tangents.

Three points went straight into Agility. The numbers jumped, and sothing invisible shifted. The world didn't move slower, but he could feel the promise of movent buzzing in his limbs—like his body had been quietly waiting for the upgrade.

Dexterity was next. Another three points. His hands twitched slightly, like they were itching to do sothing—anything. It wasn't a dramatic transformation, just a low hum of potential—like the calm before a drum solo.

Intelligence followed. Three points again. His mind didn't explode with knowledge, but a strange stillness settled in. Like his brain had just adjusted its glasses and found everything a little clearer.

Two points slid into Constitution. There was no surge of power, no epic pulse. Just a quiet fortification, like stacking bricks on a wall that had always been one gust of wind away from collapse.

Then the last point. Strength.

It didn't make him feel like a superhero, but his arm tensed a little differently. Like a reminder. Just enough to tell him—you won't get tossed like a ragdoll this ti.

"Alright, brain's online, limbs are ready, and maybe now I won't die tripping over a pebble."

"Still squishy, but at least now I'm squishy with purpose."

•••••

HP: 30/30

MP: 40/40

SP: 20/20

[STATS]

CONSTITUTION: 3

INTELLIGENCE: 4

STRENGTH: 2

DEXTERITY: 4

AGILITY: 4

•••••

"Okay, stat screen, close. Go sparkle sowhere else."

The pale blue glow around Noah shimred like sunlight caught in a glass of water. It flickered once, then pulsed outward in a smooth ripple of light.

[Now that you've distributed your precious little stat points, you're officially ready to step into the magical at grinder—also known as the Endless Dungeon.]

Before he could even blink twice, the ground beneath his feet vanished. Reality blinked out like a faulty bulb, and the next second he was standing in a place that looked like it had rolled straight out of a dieval RPG developer's fever dream.

Stone pathways twisted through narrow aisles, where stalls were piled high with strange vials, rusted swords, and gleaming trinkets.

The air reeked of steel, old parchnt, and sothing that slled suspiciously like dried sweat.

People bustled around in armor that clinked and groaned with each movent. So were arguing over potion prices. Others casually haggled over what looked like dragon teeth and scorched cloaks.

[Try not to embarrass yourself by dying in the first ten minutes, Noah.]

He turned quickly, but Eve was gone. Not a flicker of her pixel-perfect form remained.

Yet her voice lingered in the air, like she had just whispered into his skull with a smirk.

Noah stared ahead, cracked his knuckles, and tilted his head like a gar about to ruin soone's leaderboard.

"I'm not just surviving this. I'm going full raid boss mode."

The plaza buzzed with activity—players running, trading, or just gawking at the towering dungeon gates looming in the distance.

From the edge of the cobblestone path, a girl in worn adventurer garb dashed toward Noah with the energy of soone who'd downed ten energy drinks and decided to speedrun life.

Her grin was warm, a little too perfect, and stuck in place like soone had glued it there.

"A fresh face! Welco to the Endless Dungeon. I'm Nene, your trusty starter pack with legs."

Hovering above her head was a glowing sign pulsing softly in digital blue:

[NPC: Nene.]

Noah glanced at it.

"I'm Noah. Neat to et you, walking tutorial."

Nene turned on her heel like a robot fresh out of charm school and beckoned him with one finger.

"C'mon, rookie. Let dazzle you with the sights before sothing eats you."

[Just go with it. She's pre-programd and running on optimism fus.]

She moved like she had no concept of personal space, weaving through the crowd like she'd been coded to ignore physics. Noah followed, reluctantly, the crowd parting like butter for her—less so for him.

[Heads up. This is the part where she walks you into a 'surprise' battle. Lots of newbies get deleted here. Try not to be one of them, yeah?]

A soft chi danced past his ear. A spark of silver light zipped up beside him and hovered like a smug firefly.

It was Eve.

"What the hell happened to you? You were a whole AI superbrain last ti I checked, now you're floating around like a discount fairy from a budget RPG. Did I miss a software update or did you downgrade on purpose?"

Eve didn't say a word.

She gave a lazy spin in the air, like she couldn't be bothered with Noah's sarcasm, then drifted forward with a sparkle trail that fizzled out midair—half majestic, half glitchy.