章 6: Chapter 6: Dungeon Raid

[ Ding!]

[ Congratulations! You have leveled up.]

[ You have received 5 attribute points to distribute freely ]

"Status:"

Name: Aengus Degaro (Ethan Smith)]

Race: Human

Level: 1

Class: None

Age: 18

Strength: 10

Agility: 8

Defense: 9

Mana: 100

Attribute points: 5

Skills: Swift Sword Strike (F)

Unique Skills:

- Basic: Appraisal

- Mythic: Skill Absorption

- Ultimate: Universal Synthesis

---

Ethan quickly distributed the attribute points on strength and agility, and felt a rush of power rising through his being. He clenched his fist, feeling the increased strength that almost felt unnatural. It was a exhilarating experience.

Ethan and Aria were currently on the third floor of the underground dungeon. Each floor became progressively hotter as they descended.

"Thud!"

As another big fire frog fell to the floor, defeated, Ethan saw a bright light where the frog had died. He approached and found a skill book there, the frog's body having disappeared.

[ Skill: Fire Toad's Leap.]

[ Class: F ]

[ Description: Acquiring it will grant you Fire Toad's jumping ability ]

"Wow! Ethan, congratulations! You've triggered your first monster drop. And, on top of that, you got a skill book out of it. You're quite lucky," Aria smiled.

"You can equip it, or even sell it at the market for 20 silver coins at least. Both win win situation."

"Let's go ahead more."

While Aria was momentarily preoccupied, her attention drawn to the floor, Ethan quietly held the skill book against his chest to equip it.

If Aria had noticed, she would have been stunned. Because, most people could only equip one active skill, and two passive skills at the beginning. It was the limit of a ordinary hunter's capabilities.

But Ethan, unaware of this restriction, managed to do so without a sweat.

[ Ding! Congratulations! You have acquired a active new skill: Fire Toad's Leap(F) ]

"Great!" He exclaimed inwardly seeing two active skills on his panel.

---

He continued to grind until sunset. Ethan managed to level up Once, which was great considering he had just started his adventure.

Aria just observed his struggles, feeling impressed at his tenacity.

Ethan was now at level 2 with 5 additional attribute points to distribute freely. He allocated them as per his need on defense and strength this time. Defense was equally important as others, as it makes his body more sturdier and stronger.

After leveling up, progress became harder, so they decided to quit for the day.

The Fire Toad's Den had twenty floors in total, and Ethan managed to clear the first four floors all by himself. Although he was close to dying many times, Aria saved him just in time. From this, he understood that he needed to prepare himself more for the next raid.

"Hey, Aria, I almost forgot. How should I increase my Mana? I can't use my attribute points on it." When they were about to part ways, Ethan finally asked the most important question that was on his mind.

"Oh, that. You need to use Mana orbs to increase your Mana. You can buy them from the shop, or if you're lucky, you can find them in monster drops."

She added, "Mana Orbs are very rare, so their price is also high. Ordinary people can't afford them at all. You will understand how rare they are soon enough."

"I see." Ethan nodded in understanding.

"By the way, how much Mana do you have?" Aria asked, curious.

"It's 100," he answered honestly.

"Well, 100 is good, especially if you're just a newbie.

----

After parting ways with Aria, Ethan entered a shop to sell the extra skill book he got from another monster drop. It was the same skill he already had: Fire Toad's Leap.

It was not useful to him anymore, so he sold it for 20 silver coins.

Afterwards, with that money, he bought another two iron swords.

"Synthesize!" he commanded after reaching his room.

"Congratulations! Your Synthesis was successful."

[ Appraisal ]

[ Iron Sword → Silver Sword (Sentient) ]

[ Metal grade: F → E ]

[ Attack power: 3 → 15 ]

[ Durability: 10 → 30 ]

"Awesome!" he cheered as soon as he saw the result. Its attack power had increased to 15, meaning it could double his strength now.

"You will be my buddy from now on." He kissed the silver sword with affection.

The silver sword softly glowed as if responding to his words. The soft glow emanated a sense of warmth and companionship, almost as if the sword had a soul of its own.

---

The next morning, Ethan woke up early, feeling a mix of excitement and apprehension. Today was the day he would head back to the dungeon alone.

After a quick breakfast, he made his way to the dungeon entrance. The city was bustling with activity, but his mind was focused on the challenges ahead.

As he descended into the dungeon, he felt the familiar heat intensify with each step. The first few floors were relatively easy, thanks to his new skills and his sentient sword. The Fire Toads were no match for him now. His confidence grew with each battle, but he knew he couldn't let his guard down.

On the fifth floor, the environment changed dramatically. The walls were covered in glowing red moss, and the air was thick with the scent of sulfur. The heat was almost unbearable, and he could feel the sweat pouring down his face. He took a deep breath and pressed on.

Ethan encountered a group of Fire Toads and used his Swift Sword Strike to take them down quickly. As he fought, he noticed a strange-looking Toad watching him from a distance. It was larger than the others and had a menacing aura.

"Darn..."

The creature leaped towards him with incredible speed. He barely managed to dodge its attack and retaliated with Swift Sword Strike. The blow connected, but the Toad didn't seem fazed.

"Croak Croak!" It let out a terrifying screech and lunged at him again while spitting fire from its mouth.

This time, Ethan used Fire Toad's Leap to jump out of the way and landed behind the creature.

"Die!" He struck with all his might, and the sword glowed brightly as it cut through the Toad's tough skin, thanks to his new upgraded sword.

"THUD!"

The creature let out one last screech before collapsing to the ground.

[ Ding! Congratulations! You have leveled up ]

[ You have received 5 attribute points to distribute freely ]

Ethan let out a sigh of relief and checked his status. He had received more attribute points, and his strength and agility had increased. He distributed the points evenly, focusing on improving his strength and agility.

Then, he quickly used Skill Absorption on the fallen Toad. If he hadn't done that quick, the body would have disappeared completely.

[ Congratulations! You have acquired a new passive skill ]

[ Skill: Fire Toad's Resilience (passive)]

[ Class: F ]

[ Description: Acquiring it will increase the user's resistance to fire-based attacks ]

This was exactly what he needed. Yesterday he wasn't able to use Skill Absorption because Aria was with him, but now he could use it as many times as he wanted.

Ethan equipped the skill and felt a surge of energy coursing through his body. The heat in the dungeon no longer felt as intense.

With renewed confidence, he continued deeper into the dungeon, determined to see how far he could go.

コメント 5のコメント

投票

ギフトを贈る

章 7: Chapter 7: Dungeon Raid(2)

[ Status ]

[ Name: Aengus Degaro(Ethan Smith) ]

[ Occupation: Hunter ]

[ Race: Human ]

[ Level: 3 ]

[ Class: None ]

[ Age: 18 ]

[ Strength: 15 ]

[ Agility: 12 ]

[ Defense: 15 ]

[ Mana: 100 ]

[ Attribute points: 0 ]

[ Skills:

[ Active: Swift Sword Strike -2(F), Fire Toad's Leap -2(F)]

[ Passive: Fire Toad's Resilience (F) ]

Unique Skills:

- Basic: Appraisal

- Mythic: Skill Absorption

- Ultimate: Universal Synthesis

---

After allocating his attribute points, Ethan felt a surge of power coursing through him. All his base stats had increased significantly, and he now possessed another passive skill. However, he still hadn't found any Mana orbs, which was a little disappointing.

His Mana was the real deal. With 100 points of Mana, he could run for 4-5 floors only. So if he wanted to clear this dungeon, he would need more Mana or have to consider joining a party.

But joining a party would mean risking his secret. Truly a dilemma.

The sixth floor of the dungeon was even more challenging. The heat was oppressive, and the monsters were stronger and more aggressive. Fire Toads were now accompanied by Flame Serpents, which slithered through the molten cracks in the ground, their scales shimmering with intense heat.

Ethan navigated through the narrow corridors, keeping his senses sharp and his sword at the ready. The sentient silver sword seemed to hum with anticipation, as if it could sense the danger around them. The red moss on the walls pulsed with a rhythmic glow, casting eerie shadows that danced with every flicker of light.

As he ventured further, he encountered a group of Flame Serpents. Their fiery eyes glared at him as they hissed and coiled, ready to strike. He knew he had to be quick and precise. Using Fire Toad's Leap, he vaulted over the serpents, landing behind them. In one swift motion, he unleashed a series of powerful strikes with his sword, each blow finding its mark. The serpents writhed and hissed before falling lifeless to the ground.

"Skill Absorption!"

[ Ding! Congratulations! You gained a new skill Flame Serpent's Breath (F) ]

[ Congratulations! You have gained a new skill, Flame Serpent's Digestion (passive) ]

[ Congratulations! You have gained a new skill Flame Serpent's Resistance (passive) ]

"Ooh, damn good!" As soon as he received the notifications, Ethan smiled.

His [Skill Absorption] ability was really getting more useful the further he went deeper. In previous floors, Skill Absorption had been unsuccessful many times.

Now, this brought him some relief. With so many skills, he could face more monsters now.

He had a little more than 30 Mana left, so he could go on a little more.

Moving forward, he encountered another group of Fire Toads and Flame Serpents. This time, they were in a group of ten.

They lunged at him while spitting fire from their mouths. Their velocity was so instant that he had no choice but to face their attack head-on. Their fire breaths enveloped him completely, casting an eerie atmosphere.

However, even after getting hit by their combined fire breath attack, Ethan was completely fine. His two passive fire resistance skills, [Fire Toad's Resilience] and [Flame Serpent's Resistance], were doing their job. Instead of pain, he only felt as if he was in some kind of hot spring.

Fire Serpent's resistance covered his body with a protective layer that protected his clothes with efficiency. Now he don't have to be naked to continue.

On the other hand, Witnessing their attack fail, they lunged to bite him with their sharp claws and fangs.

In counter, he used [Flame Serpent's Breath] to deflect them. Although it wouldn't do much damage, it would keep them busy for a while. Meanwhile, he readied himself to unleash his sword skill [Swift Sword Strike] upon them. It was the best option he had.

As they got separated because of his breath attack, he quickly lunged his sword skill on them.

"Swift Sword Strike."

"Flame Serpent's Breath!"

"Swift Sword Strike."

He unleashed a combination of powerful strikes with his sword and breath skill, each blow finding its mark.

"Croak, Croak!

Hiss, Hiss!"

The serpents and toads writhed and hissed before falling lifeless to the ground.

[ Ding! Congratulations! You have leveled up ]

[ You have received 5 attribute points to distribute freely ]

Ethan moved forward to use Skill Absorption on them quickly. However, to his surprise, their bodies were nowhere to be seen. Instead, there were a few glowing skill books on the ground.

- Fire Toad's Leap (F) 2x

- Fire Toad's Resilience (F) 3x

- Flame Serpent's Breath (F) 2x

- Fire Toad's Breath (F) 1x

Fire Toad's Breath was similar to Flame Serpent's Breath, but with slight differences. In Fire Toad's Breath, they spat fireballs instead of breathing fire. Honestly, he thought it should be called [Fire Toad's Spittle] or something like that.

Still, he equipped [Fire Toad's Breath] and kept the rest in his cloth bag to sell them later.

Moving forward, Ethan stumbled upon a hidden chamber. The air inside was cooler, and the walls were lined with ancient, glowing runes. At the center of the room, a pedestal held a gleaming orb. His heart raced with excitement.

[ Appraisal ]

[ Mana Orb 1x ]

[ Quality: F ]

[ Mana Capacity Increase: 20 ]

Finally! He found a Mana Orb. He couldn't believe that he found it so quickly.

As he approached the pedestal, a shimmering barrier appeared, blocking his path. It was a protective ward, and he knew he had to disable it to claim the orb. He examined the runes closely and realized they formed a complex puzzle. His knowledge from Appraisal came in handy as he deciphered the symbols and figured out the sequence needed to deactivate the barrier.

With a final touch, the barrier dissipated, and he carefully picked up the Mana Orb. It pulsed with a soft blue light, and he could feel its energy radiating through him. Without hesitation, he absorbed the orb, feeling a surge of power as his Mana increased.

[ Ding! Your Mana capacity has increased by 20 points. Current Mana capacity: 120 ]

"Good!" Ethan now had 120 Mana points in total, a significant boost that would aid him greatly in his journey. He felt more prepared than ever to face the challenges ahead as it refilled his Mana to the brim.

Leaving the hidden chamber, he continued his descent into the dungeon. The seventh floor greeted him with a fiery inferno. Lava flowed through the cracks in the ground, and the air was thick with smoke. The heat was intense, but thanks to [Fire Toad's Resilience] and [Flame Serpent's Resistance], he was able to withstand it.

As he navigated the treacherous terrain, he encountered more powerful creatures. More Fire Serpents and Toads, towering and imposing, blocked his path. They were nearly double in size compared to the previous ones, and their fiery eyes glowed with malevolence. Ethan knew these foes would be a true test of his skills.

コメント 9のコメント

投票

ギフトを贈る