Dimension Beta

Pech began removing the cursed flesh from Tom's chest. To his frustration, the flesh regenerated almost instantly, knitting itself back together with each slice.

"This might hurt," Pech muttered, his voice carrying a tinge of warning. A faint flame erupted around his hand, and without hesitation, he plunged it into Tom's chest.

Tom felt the searing heat invade his body. Though he had grown used to numbness in the cursed area, the fiery sensation clawed its way through him, sending sharp waves of pain coursing through his entire being. Notifications of HP loss popped up repeatedly in his vision.

"I need to burn it away to stop the regeneration. Hold still, boy," Pech said firmly.

Tom clenched his teeth, beads of sweat forming on his brow, as he tried to endure the unbearable pain. His body instinctively flinched, but he fought against it, determined to see this through.

Meanwhile, Pech pulled out an oversized syringe filled with a glowing blue liquid. "Hold your breath," he instructed, before plunging the needle directly into Tom's exposed, blackened heart.

Tom gasped as the liquid flooded his veins, cold and sharp. Pech quickly handed him a vial. "Sip this slowly and don't down it all at once. And don't pass out. If you do, this was all for nothing."

Tom nodded weakly, taking measured sips. His heart began to slow. Each beat was weaker, quieter, until it stopped altogether. A deathly silence filled the room. His vision blurred, and darkness threatened to consume him.

"Almost there," Pech muttered, sweat trickling down his temple. Then, he did something unimaginable. He reached into Tom's chest with both hands and pulled out his heart.

Tom's blurry gaze caught sight of the grotesque, pulsating organ. "Is... is that my heart?" he thought before the darkness consumed him.

Pech set the blackened heart aside and picked up a crystalline orb that shimmered with an otherworldly glow. He inserted it carefully into the gaping cavity in Tom's chest. The moment the crystal settled, it began to radiate light, its energy coursing through Tom's veins.

Tom's body convulsed violently as layers of cursed flesh were stripped away, replaced by something entirely new. His gray skin swelled unnaturally, cracking and splitting apart, spilling blood before healing over. The transformation was grotesque yet mesmerizing, each rupture and regrowth unveiling a hardened, stone-like surface beneath.

Pech stepped back, marveling at his work. He ran a scalpel over Tom's new skin, which screeched as if dragging against metal. "A success," Pech muttered, a faint smile curling his lips.

…

In the depths of unconsciousness, Tom felt as though he was submerged in dark, suffocating waters. He flailed helplessly, his movements sluggish, as though weighed down by invisible chains.

Suddenly, a light began to glow from within his chest. It grew brighter and brighter, illuminating his translucent form. His organs were clearly visible: heart, lungs, stomach, but as he watched, each shattered into fragments, crumbling like glass. His chest became a hollow void.

The light filled the emptiness, a solid energy taking shape, mending and transforming him. The glow receded, leaving him alone in darkness once more.

…

Tom's eyes fluttered open, his vision blurry but familiar. He recognized the wooden beams of Pech's lab ceiling.

"You're awake," Pech said calmly. "Good. How do you feel?"

Tom sat up, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers experimentally. He hopped off the table, testing his legs. "I feel… strong," he said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

He assumed a fighting stance, throwing a few punches, but something felt off. "I'm slower," he noted, glancing down at his chest. The cursed wound was gone.

"My stats should be back to normal," he muttered, pulling up his character interface. Relief turned to confusion as he read the unfamiliar layout:

[Name: Tom Stein]

[Race: Golem (Human form)]

[Class: Brawler]

[Level: 32]

[Health Points: 3720/3720]

[Mana: 100/100]

[Vitality: 248]

[Strength: 248]

[Dexterity: 31]

[Intelligence: 0]

[Wisdom: 0]

[Level 10 Skills: Beginner Brawler's Stance, Punching Fury]

[Racials: Hard as Stone]

[Status Effects: The Curse of Flesh – Your flesh makes you weak and hinders your growth. All stats reduced by 30%. (inaktiv)]

[Free Stat Points: 10]

All of Tom's stats had changed dramatically. Intelligence and Wisdom were now at zero, as he had lost the passive stat bonuses that humans typically received.

His HP had tripled, and both Strength and Vitality had increased exponentially, but nearly all his Dexterity had vanished.

Then there was his new racial ability: Hard as Stone – Toughness increased by 30%.

The description was short and straightforward. Tom assumed it acted as a 30% damage reduction or something similar.

"But about those stats…" Tom murmured, still staring at his status window.

There wasn't much he could do about the overall changes to his stats at the moment. He decided to invest his 10 unallocated stat points into Dexterity to offset the loss.

To his shock, the result left him with only:

[Dexterity: 36]

"What's going on here?" Tom wondered aloud. Slowly, the realization dawned on him. "Wait a minute! At level 31, I'd invested 124 points into Strength and Vitality. Those values have essentially doubled. That must mean this race has an inherent multiplier for Strength and Vitality!"

Testing his theory further, he thought back to his free stat points. "I only gained 5 points of Dexterity from 10 free stat points. That must mean there's a 0.5x multiplier on Dexterity for this race."

He glanced at Wisdom and Intelligence. "I have no idea if there's a hidden multiplier for these stats, but since I don't need them, it doesn't matter."

One thing was clear: his HP pool had significantly improved. As a human, he had gained 10 HP per point of Vitality, but now that number had increased to 15 HP per point.

"The downside is definitely the reduced agility," Tom muttered. Even though he lost Dexterity faster than he could regain it, he received double the benefits in Strength and Vitality.

He scrolled back to his status effects window. The Curse of Flesh was marked as Inactive. A wave of relief washed over him as he realized the curse no longer held him back. For the first time in days, Tom felt truly powerful.

"You seem to have gained some unexpected advantages," Pech said, observing Tom's reactions closely. "But don't think this is over yet. The hardest part is still ahead. We need to start planning for what's coming."

Tom nodded, his expression firm.

"By the way, what time is it?" Tom asked suddenly.

Pech glanced at a clock on the wall. "It's around 8 PM."

Tom's face fell. "Ah, crap. Pablo's going to kill me. We'll talk later!" Without waiting for a response, Tom sprinted out of Pech's lab, his footsteps echoing down the street.

Pech shook his head, smirking faintly. "Make sure you're here first thing tomorrow morning!" he shouted after him.

A quest notification popped up in front of Tom, but he ignored it, focusing on getting to the tavern as quickly as possible. To his surprise, when he arrived, the tavern was eerily quiet.

Normally, by this hour, the place would be bustling with patrons. Now, it was completely empty.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Tom called out, his voice echoing in the silence.

Suddenly, Hando, one of the bartenders, burst out from the back room. "You're here!" he exclaimed, rushing toward Tom.

"Where have you been? Everyone's been looking for you! Pablo even closed the bar, thinking you'd gone off and done something reckless!" Hando's voice was loud, full of relief and frustration.

Tom blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Hando cut him off. "Just wait for Pablo and the others to arrive. Then we'll explain everything."

Before Tom could argue, Hando stepped outside, letting out a sharp whistle. Within moments, a falcon swooped down, landing gracefully on Hando's arm. He whispered something to the bird, and it took off immediately, vanishing into the night sky.

"We'll wait inside," Hando said, grabbing Tom by the arm as though afraid he might vanish again.

"I'm not going to run off. Calm down," Tom muttered. "Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened?!" Hando barked. "Don't try to play dumb, kid. We know exactly what happened!"

Tom froze. "Wait… What do you know?"

Hando sighed but didn't answer. "Just wait until everyone's here."

Not long after, Casper stormed into the tavern, his expression one of equal parts relief and urgency. "Boy, you're alive!" he said, hurrying over. He placed a firm hand on Tom's shoulder, inspecting him carefully.

"Good. We're not too late."

"Too late for what?" Tom started to ask, but before he could finish, the door swung open again.

This time, it was Pablo. His face was pale, his eyes wide with worry. The moment he saw Tom, he rushed forward, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him slightly.

"Where is it?! Where's the mark?!" Pablo demanded.

"It's gone," Tom said calmly. "I dealt with it."

"You… dealt with it?" Pablo's voice was incredulous.

"It's a long story…"

"Then wait until everyone gets here to tell it," Pablo said, relief softening his features. He let go of Tom's shoulders, exhaling deeply.

Over the next several minutes, more familiar faces arrived. Employees from the tavern, leatherworkers from Smork's workshop, and even Stahl filed in, each looking at Tom with varying degrees of concern.

As they gathered, everything started to click in Tom's mind. Of course, Stahl must have told Pablo about the curse, which triggered the frantic search when Tom didn't show up for work.

"We've searched the entire city for you," Pablo said, his voice a mix of frustration and relief.

"How did you know I wasn't outside the city?" Tom asked, genuinely curious.

"I've got friends among the guards," Pablo replied. "No one matching your description left the city today. That's how."

Pablo's tone shifted, growing serious. "But let's focus on the real issue. Tell us, Tom… what happened to you? And more importantly, what happened to that damn curse?"