บท 21: Novel 8-Testing one's powers
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/Later…/
[Level 9 -> 10]
[You've been given two Skill Points]
[You've been given one Upgrade Token]
"Hooo… At least this time it's simpler to collect the bodies." Samuel said as he crossed his arms
Samuel waited before a dark cavern, inside, the smell of blood and dirt rose to the skies…
On the side next to his foot, the body of a giant ant remained, broken into multiple chunks.
[Giant Snapping Ant Lv 11]
A nest with hundreds of giant ants around Level 10. After slaying them all, he leveled up to ten.
It wasn't hard, he only needed to create some turmoil on the surface before launching a few thorns inside, the ants did the rest themselves by creating lines leading everywhere inside.
There were likely a few more alive, but he wasn't going to risk himself like that.
"The bodies on the surface are enough, but first…"
'Time to raise my Skills again.'
[Name: Samuel Necrom D'Lurge
Age: 17 Years & 11 months…
Class: Warlock E
Level: 10
Life Force: 100% (+100%)
Flowing Ether: 550 (+50)
Attributes =>
Physical(+): 10 (+20) -> 50
Mental(+): 20 -> 50
Spiritual(+): 10 -> 40
Ether: 5 (+5) -> 60
Skills (⍺) ->
Crimson Thorn Lv Max
Smoke Skip Lv 0
Condemn the Cowardly Lv 0
Vile Harvest Lv 0
Necrotic Volley Lv 0
Skills (ꞵ) ->
Graywood Apothecary Lv 0
Debilitate Lv 0
Vital Injection Lv 0
Maledic Arrow Lv 0
Toxic Lance Lv 0
Skill Points: 5
Upgrade Token: 1
Traits:
>Hard Body
>Sharp Mind
]
[Graywood Apothecary Lv 0
Type: Ritual/Alchemy
Cost: Life Force
Range: Self
Cooldown: N/A
Description: After preparing an Altar, sacrifice a portion of your Life Force to create an item.
The cost of crafting an item can be remedied by scavenging materials from the environment.
Sacrifice the Life Force of fallen foes to create a temporary, portable Altar which lasts until a single item is crafted.
Only one Altar may exist at a time.
Enemies slain within a certain range of the altar automatically contribute their Life Force to extending its duration and enhancing the item crafted.
]
"Great, now that I'm Level 10, I can begin the second part of my plan…"
'Powerleveling myself to 20!'
"I'll seek out all of the Elites and Bosses hidden throughout the plane, if I kill them all, not only will I receive quite a bit of Experience, but also unique resources from their bodies!"
'... Aside from the Ant Queen inside this nest. Usually, the Queen surfaces after you kill enough of its horde, but it likely died to my thorns deep down so I'll just leave it there.'
"There's also another thing, killing strong monsters above your Leven can trigger special rewards from the System. I was originally planning at challenging them as soon as I got here but after putting in some thought, Level 10 is the safe bet."
'It also shouldn't change the rewards much since I'm still severely underleveled.'
'Life Bullet is an insane Skill… All of my Skills are insane.'
"Speaking of that… I should test this new one out."
'Graywood Apothecary, the evolution of Hunter Supplies.'
'It's about the same as before, but now I can create a temporary Altar by spending Life Force. And although it has the downside of only creating one item, I can continuously gather energy and spend it all at once to create one super item.'
'Or I can fix the Altar on the ground to turn it into a permanent one, allowing me to mass produce items in the middle of a battle.'
'The other evolution options weren't as enticing as this one, despite their pros, such as the one that enhanced all of the items I can craft.'
'But even then, the items I craft are nothing to the base items I have. It would take me quite a while to get it to the point where they're comparable, but that's obvious, this wasn't a crafting Skill to begin with, and spending Life Force to create full sets of high class equipment would make me one of the best item makers in the nation…'
"Time to move on… Spend the Upgrade Token to enhance Smoke Skip!"
[Smoke Skip Lv 0 -> Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
Samuel immediately made his choice:
[Smoke Skip Lv Max -> Shroud Step Lv0]
[Shroud Step Lv 0
Type: Dislocation
Cost: Flowing Ether (10)
Range: 15 Meters
Cooldown: N/A
Description: Manipulate your Ether to enshroud yourself in a dark veil before rapidly snapping to your desired location.
While enshrouded, you may still cast Skills, and passing through enemies randomly steals one of their positive buffs for 30 seconds.
While transformed, physical attacks are highly ineffective against you. You may deactivate the Skill anytime before the fifteen-meter mark.
After leaving Shroud Step, become invisible for 1 second. You may choose to activate invisibility immediately after leaving Shroud Step or delay it for up to 3 seconds.
]
"With this, I've covered about everything I needed."
'I lack some defensive Skills, but Shroud Step will do.'
'Since I'm Level 10 now, I can pass by a store and buy more Skills. Hopefully, this time I'll get a unique one. But my priority is still the Awakener's Watch.'
'I didn't have the chance yesterday, but I should do what that lady told me and peruse the internet a little, maybe I'll find something of value. And with the funds I'll get here today, I should be able to buy a few Skills.'
"Time to move."
It had been about one a half hour since Samuel entered the plane.
…
/Half an hour later…/
"... Huff… I'm here."
By following the river upstream, at the far edge of the forest above a waterfall, Samuel found his target.
Climbing the waterfall was simple as shroudstep functioned even on a steep elevation, so with a few continuous casts, he reached its top.
Atop the mountain was a wide lake, but his target slept at a cavern at the other side opposite to the waterfall.
In fact, he could see it now.
[Elite Woodland Goldenback Level 40]
One of the strongest monsters in this area, the Goldenback ape!
"Wait… It's an Elite?! It's Level is quite bloated... I thought the strongest monster around was Level 31…"
"Even better!"
Sometimes, even bosses could change, which often meant more significant bounties!
Followed by increased danger.
"I should level at least once with this one…"
Samuel sneakily approached the ape as it showered in the lake.
'The Goldenback ape has a continuous passive aura that reduces all damage it takes by 80% and reduces the power of Status effects by 50%.'
'To defeat it, you either wear it down or dispel it.'
'It's time to test this.' He said as he checked his Skills
"Activate Skill, Vital Injection."
The helix-shaped mark manifested before the ape. It was completely unaware of the hunter lurking in the dark.
"Activate Skill, Debilitate."
"Huu?... UHHH UHHH!!"
The ape immediately felt its body grow heavy, and as soon as it did so, its body glew golden.
/Shine…/
Golden light shone above Samuel, revealing his location.
But before the golden ape could run towards him.
"Activate Skill, Condemn the Cowardly."
/Step…/
Samuel stepped out of the Skill's range immediately after its effect took root.
/PURGE!!/
"?!"
The ape was immediately purged of its passive abilities, falling to its knee due to the sudden weakness.
"Activate Skill, Crimson Thorn!"
/Condense…/
0.2 seconds… 0.7… 1 Second.
/BOOOOOM!!/
The thorn condensed, meanwhile, the ape got up from the lake, raising its head to face him.
/Shine…/
Its fur began to shine again as its passive ability returned.
Due to its passive ability taking effect before the purge, the Skills total time went from 2.5 seconds to 1.25.
Adding the time it took for the thorn to cross 70ish meters, it was barely… 1.25 seconds.
However, Samuel did not take a mere 0.01 seconds to cast it…
So, in the end, his thorn smashed against the ape, sending it thumbling back as blood spilled everywhere.
/Drain…/
Even with the passive… It was an Insta-Kill.
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level 10 -> 13]
[You've been given six Skill Points]
"I think I messed up the timing… Well, there's much to learn!"
'I could've dispelled it by using my newest Skill… But no way I'm getting close to that.'
With an eager smile, Samuel ran towards the ape to process its body and collect his loot.
…
[Vile Harvest Lv 1]
/… Shine!/
As the ape's body was dismantled and sucked inside the ring, a golden treasure chest manifested before him, shining in all its glory!
"Hm?... A Treasure chest!"
Amidst the items and other drops a monster could have, a treasure chest was one of the many possibilities.
For Samuel, it was his second Treasure chest. His first one was from the Alpha Crocodile he slew not so long ago.
"I would say I'm lucky, but for a Level 10 slaying a Level 40 Elite Boss… I would say it's little."
'It'll depend on what I get, though… But now now.'
He turned to the side, entering the cavern.
"ZZzzz…"
"..."
Inside, he saw a slender ape sleep with two other smaller apes.
'This is rare, the female ape is a rare mob that appears once in a while. It usually participates in the battle once the Boss' health drops bellow 70%, it can heal and support it in the fight.'
'At the same time, its children are even rarer, if they're hurt or cry during the battle, the boss goes berserk as its Level rises by 5.'
'The female ape is a good find, it has a 100% chance to drop a cleric Skill book while the children can be tamed, but I'm not a tamer, nor can I bring them back to the shop, so….'
[Vital Injection Lv 0]
/Condense…/
/SPLAT!/
At least they all died without pain, together.
[Vile Harvest Lv 1]
/Shine…/
[Golden Benediction]
"Here it is, the Skill book. And this one is for Level 20+ Awakeners, so it's quite valuable."
"Nice haul."
Samuel collected their bodies and checked the cavern one last time, but after he found nothing of value. He moved on the next Boss.
…
[Elite Wyvern-Eating Viper Level 33]
/SPLAT!/
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level 13 -> 15]
[You've been given four Skill Points]
[You've been given one Upgrade Token]
[Vital Harvest Lv 1]
/Shine…/
"Another treasure chest? I'm killing it with these bosses! Keep them coming please~"
'Challenging higher Level mobs sure is great. And the fact it was another elite sure helped.'
'It's likely because they had time to grow a little due a few days of peace… All the better for me.'
'If I hadn't killed them now there's a pretty high chance they would've sent some high level awakeners to take care of it, so better now then never.'
Next!
[Elite Nomad PurpleShell Level 30]
/SPLAT!/
[Level Up]
[Level 15 -> 16]
[You've been given two Skill Points]
[Vital Harvest Lv 1]
/Shine…/
"Is there even a need to say anything?..."
Next!
[Elite Emperor Gray Butterfly Level 28]
/SPLAT!/
[Level Up]
[Level 16 -> 17]
[You've been given two Skill Points]
[Vital Harvest Lv 1]
"No chest?... Yeah, this was quite easy…"
Next!
[Uxun Level 42]
[Buxun Level 40]
/SPLAT!/
/SPLAT/
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level Up]
[Level 17 -> 20]
[You've been given six Skill Points]
[You've been given one Upgrade Token]
[You've hit the minimum threshold to advance your profession]
[Vital Harvest Lv 1]
/SHINE!/
Two golden chests brilliantly manifested before him.
"Woah! This one was a little harder… I didn't expect these two Bosses to evolve even further and become named ones."
'But I got two chests! Should I say I'm lucky or not?!'
Sometimes, bosses can gain names, becoming even stronger and gaining unique abilities.
Uxun and Buxun were the final two roaming Bosses Samuel could take on as every other Boss was either too far away, like, really far, or had some unique condition he couldn't fulfill within a day or two.
But he was glad he came! What a haul!
"Including a few Elite creatures I slew on the way to each Boss, I got eight Simple Treasure Chests and Five Golden Chests from Bosses."
"Although the last two chests I got were… How do I put it? Shinier than the other three Golden chests."
'First, I'll open the eight simple treasure chests!'
"Let's go lady luck, give me something good…"
/Shine… Open…/
[HookShot]
"A Skillbook for Rangers! Well… It's compatible with other ranged classes too, but… Yeah!"
[Great yellow fang]
"A material? Meh… Should cost a few bucks once I sell it."
[Leaping Strike]
"A Skillbook!... For Berserkers. Level 20+ so quite decent."
He checked the remaining five items, and in total, he got five materials, two Skill books, and one consumable item:
[Monkey Wine]
"Monkey Wine is a rather famous consumable, not decent for me as I have no use for it, but it can be used for some alchemical endeavors… They say it's quite good as well."
'It's better sold than anything.'
"Overall… Quite underperforming, but it's decent. One Skill is the best I could've received."
'But I'm a bit down I got no items.'
Before opening the Golden Boxes, he learned the Skill.
[You have learned the Skill, Wraith Hand]
"Wraith Hand?..."
[Wraith Hand Lv 0
Type: Manipulation/Summoning
Cost: Life Force
Range: Self (Extends up to 10 meters)
Cooldown: N/A
Description: Manifest two ethereal, shadowy hands that extend from your own body. These wraith-like hands can interact with all physical and ethereal objects within a 10-meter range.
Wraith Hand can grasp, pull, manipulate items, or grapple onto surfaces to pull and push the caster or others within their range.
Wraith Hand works as an extension of the caster's body. Thus, they cannot pull or push the caster themselves and require an anchoring point for such actions.
The hands are intangible to most physical attacks and have the same Physical power as the caster.
The wraith hands last for a short duration and can be controlled with precise movements, allowing the caster to perform tasks with the same level of dexterity as their own hands.
Duration: 1 Minute per 0.5% Life Force
]
"Isn't this… Quite cool? Wait I have to try this out."
"Activate Skill, Wraith Hand!"
/Shua…/
From his shoulders, a pair of dark, shadowy fingers manifested, holding onto him tightly.
It was an odd feeling, almost repulsive, but Samuel knew those fingers were his, so they felt less foreign… Albeit still strange.
"I feel… Odd. As if i gained a new pair of limbs… I can move them by thinking, but it's not efficient. I need to learn how to move with two pairs of arms…"
/Pull!/
"Woah… Hahaha… This is cool."
Samuel commanded the hands to grapple onto a tree and pull him towards it, and like Spiderman, he was pulled relatively fast and soundlessly.
"I don't feel tired, it seems Wraith Hand has no cooldown, only a duration cost."
'Actually, shouldn't it be called Wraith Hands?'
"I can also push myself from the ground, making it seem as if I'm flying… This is super useful."
'I'll have to test its evolutions; maybe something cool will appear.'
"It doesn't cost much to have them around. In a fight, I could easily maintain them. And given they have the same strength as me, I can punch and push anything that gets too close. Maybe use them to throw items and move me around the place instead of over-relying on Shroud Step."
With a satisfied nod, he checked his Stats:
[Name: Samuel Necrom D'Lurge
Age: 17 Years & 11 months…
Class: Warlock E
Level: 20
Life Force: 100% (+100%)
Flowing Ether: 1050 (+50)
Attributes =>
Physical(+): 10 (+20) -> 70
Mental(+): 20 -> 80
Spiritual(+): 10 -> 70
Ether: 5 (+5) -> 110
Skills (⍺) ->
Crimson Thorn Lv Max
Shroud Step Lv 0
Condemn the Cowardly Lv 0
Vile Harvest Lv 0
Necrotic Volley Lv 0
Wraith Hand Lv 0
Skills (ꞵ) ->
Graywood Apothecary Lv 0
Debilitate Lv 0
Vital Injection Lv 0
Maledic Arrow Lv 0
Toxic Lance Lv 0
Skill Points: 25
Upgrade Token: 2
Traits:
>Hard Body
>Sharp Mind
]
"I have a lot of Skill Points, but honestly, I don't need to spend them."
'It's more worthwhile for me to keep them to use once I advance my profession, or once I get a new Skill like Wraith Hand.'
'I need at least 10 points to raise Crimson Thorn twice once I advance, and a few points to raise Vile Injection as well, as for the rest…'
'All Skills have potential, but none of them are truly needed…'
"Time to open the Golden Chests."
Samuel started by opening the two chests he recently got.
/Shine!/
[Left Shattering Glove]
[Right Power Gauntlet]
A set item, but not for a caster like him…
'These specs… These gloves are meant for Second Advancement Classes.'
If every twenty Levels can be considered and Advancement, then this pair was meant for a Level 40 melee fighter.
Samuel wasn't the type to fight up close, as even if he could, he was better off touching them to inflict his debuffs before running away, not staying and punching them.
'Maybe I could equip them on my Wraith Hand… But still, do I even lack damage? I'm better of selling them so I can buy a stronger Warlock set.'
'Mine is already pretty good but there are many out there, I just have to look for them.'
"Next."
His next chest was the very first Golden Chest he received.
"The Level difference between me and the Goldenback was about 30 Levels, a little higher than the Level difference between me and the named monsters. Still, since they were named, I expected their treasure to be offer better rewards."
'Only one way to find out.'
/Shine!/
/Clink…/
[Forgotten Sanctuary Key]
"This is?... No way…"
'A Realm Key?!'
…
Realm Keys were some of the greatest treasures one could acquire.
What they contained was usually a mystery, but upon usage, a temporary plane would open and its conditions would be shared to its user, this way, they can evaluate the danger and if it's worthy challenging it or not.
'Anthing could be inside, but given its an entire plane, it would something like be Hidden Skills, but it could also be items or high grade consumables.'
'But regardless of it all, since the Realm Key appeared for me, it means its suitable for my Class or myself in general.'
'This is a great opportunity, maybe what I lack can be found inside, there are no lack of stories of people entering pocket realms and getting legendary treasures!'
'But so are the tales of those who didn't return…'
"..."
'I'll open the two other chests first, see what I get before opening it.'
'If it's too much for me to handle, I'll go back and report it on the shop, I should be able to get a reward for it anyway…'
'It's a bit of a waste, but I have to use it now. As given the realm key came from a chest I opened when I was Level 10, the gate could end up having a level restriction.'
/Open!/
/Shine…/
[Flying Snake Great Bow]
[Revolving Purple Stance]
"An item and a Skill book… For a Monk or Martial Class I imagine…"
Samuel wasn't being unlucky with them, there were just far too many Classes, and even if the chest dropped forr him, it wasn't guaranteed to be suitable for him, contrary to something like a Realm Key.
"As for the Bow… I leveled Hunter's Stash to get the chance to make a bow for my use… But forget it, this one will do."
'And with my newest Skill… I can make use of it while also holding onto other items!'
'Maybe I can even use my Skill… I'll test it later though.'
[Flying Snake Great Bow
Physical +40
Mental +20
Ether +5
All arrows are coated with a mild venom. Dealing 2.5% of the target's health every second for 4 seconds.
Damage against flying units +25%
Every second arrow is doubled.
Every third arrow deals twice as much damage.
Every fourth arrow suppresses a target's ability to move for 2 seconds.
Level Restriction: 20
]
"Excellent bow. Given its properties and Stats, it's meant for a Second evolution Awakener, but I'll use it for now."
'To get the feel of what it means to be overgeared… And how much ahead those rich snobs are from me.'
'There is the fact many items are Level restricted, but given there are items like this that can be used at a low level… I can't imagine what they'll get their hands on.'
'... It only means I have to work twice as hard.'
/Grab…/
Gulping dry, Samuel held the dark key in his hand.
It had a strange feel, almost like it had been abandoned for ages.
/Click… Spin…/
Samuel raised the key and spun it in the air, and immediately after, the air twisted, and a dark sphere swallowed the key before expanding to form an oval-shaped dark gate.
[Forgotten Sanctuary Lv 55 -> 65
Type: Solo Special Dungeon
Duration: 48 hours; 6 hours upon entry -> Disappears once time's up
Requirements: Underneath or equal to Level 20; Warlock or other Equivalent Caster Class
]
"This… Do they want to kill me?!"
'Level 55 to 65?! And I must be underneath Level 20? Are they asking a Tier One Awakener to face Tier Three monsters?'
'... It's a Special Dungeon, and abode all a Solo one, this must mean something is outstanding there…'
'Solo Dungeons are usually a gift by the System. If you pass the challenge, you get a cool item; that's it.'
'And a Special Dungeon means it has a unique gimmick to it…'
'It's a Dungeon so the process of conquering it should be rather straight forward, just cleanse the Ether condensation, which is usually a Boss monster somewhere inside.'
"If the time limit ends… The Dungeon disappears. This likely means I'll be expelled…"
'There are dangers but also a backup plan…'
"... I don't want to live a life of mediocrity, not after everything I did to be here."
'Alright! I'll do it!'
Samuel stepped through the dark gate, braving the mysterious future ahead…
…
/Cross…/
/Crouch!/
The moment he crossed to the other side, Samuel crouched as he checked his surroundings.
'... There's nothing around me.'
It was dark, but he could see somewhat decently, thanks to his Stats and his affinity for shadows due to his class.
'There's a wall behind me and the way forward is clear… I seem to be in some sort of cavern.'
'I don't hear anything around… I'll move.'
/Step step…/
He followed the step forward to a crossroad, where he encountered his first group of enemies!
/Sha sha sha…/
[Gray Moon Tribesman Level 57]
[Gray Moon Tribesman Level 55]
Standing side by side were two tall and muscular lizardmen. They wore leathery clothes and held straightforward rock and wooden tools in their hands.
As their name implied, they were Tribesman, but what they weren't was weak.
"..."
'I can't avoid them… Can I take them down? One should be possible, but the second other is…'
'I still have my Vitality Buff, increasing my total Life Force by 70%... If I can kill one, I should be able to get near the other and touch it to drain it's Life Force…'
'Okay, I'll do that.'
/Condense…/
'Wait, but if I use my max power Skill here, it'll alert everyone due to its speed!'
'Shine! What do I do?... I can decrease its strength so it doesn't cause a sonic boom, but then I can't guarantee they'll die… Dammit!'
'I have to gamble on the weaker thorn. As long as I am on their face…'
[Vital Injection Lv 0]
He began like always and with a relieved smile, they didn't seem to react to his ability.
[Crimson Thorn Lv 6]
/Throw!/
/Swoosh!/
/Pierce!/
/Drain!/
"Guah ha ka?!"
The thorn precisely hit the nape of the lizardman, causing the target to fall face first on the ground, bleeding severely.
[Shroud Step]
[Vile Harvest Lv 1]
"G-GUOOO!"
The lizardman felt it's strength fall slightly, causing it to wail in pain.
/Push!/
"..."
Samuel tried to push the lizardman onto the corpse of its companion, but the creature was rooted in place.
The difference in their physical power was far too great.
"I really can't fight in close quarters…"
/SPLAT!/
At that moment, the two thorns from the lizardman's body rose upward, penetrating the chest and neck of his opponent before vanishing.
"Huff… Okay, no problem, two is fine…"
'If my parents knew I was facing a Level 55 monster…'
"Something's strange… Where's my Experience?... Don't tell me this Dungeon gives no XP?"
/Shine…/
At the same time, the bodies of the lizardman turned to dust, leaving behind two dark marbles the size of a fingernail for him to collect.
"What's this?"
[Forgotten Currency]
[Forgotten Currency]
'Currency?... Can I use it to buy something?'
'This is a Special Dungeon. Maybe this is its gimmick? To kill monsters and gather coins to exchange them later?'
"I can shove them in my inventory so its fine, I have some space thanks to the Ring they gave me."
'It doesn't seem like I can collect their bodies, so I'll gather the marbles.'
'Time to scout the surroundings.'
Samuel chose the left tunnel, but after a while, he went back and left a marking on the wall so he would know where he went.
This way, he would know how to find himself if he got lost.
…
/Around two hours later…/
/SPLAT!/
/Drain…/
/Cling cling…/
/Shua… Grab…/
Using his Wraith hands to collect the loot, Samuel dragged the fallen coins to his possession.
"Phew… With this… How many do I have now?"
[Forgotten Currency x182]
'I killed quite a few… But it's getting harder to move around.'
'First, I seem to be in a cave system. The more I walk, the more pathways there are and greater the Dungeon's complexity becomes.'
'Second, I can't Level Up while I'm here. Otherwise, I would've leveled at least once.'
'These monsters I've been fighting, they're all trash mobs, so even with the level difference, they wouldn't give me a lot of experience, but there are Elites and stronger mobs spread out.'
'Killing them just drops more of this currency.'
'Third. I figure out what to do with these.'
'Spread around the caverns are fountains I can offer the coins to in exchange for rewards.'
'I found three fountains so far, each giving different rewards.'
'One was mostly focused on items, another was focused on Skills, and the last one I found ten or so minutes ago was focused on items, albeit a different assortment then the first one I found.'
'In short, this Dungeon gimmick is "Shop", for me to gather these coins and exchange them for things.'
"The reason I haven't done so… Is because I want to look everywhere I can first."
'The Skills were the most attractive, there were some unique and rare Skills there, but above all, what I'm looking for is… A chance to raise my Grade.'
'Somewhere out here there has to be a shop that gives me the chance to buy Classes.'
"But so far I've found nothing…"
'To move around, I've been using Wraith Hands. I figured out I can invest a lot of Life Force into them to keep them working semi-permanently, although if they're destroyed, all the energy I poured into them vanishes.'
'I use the Wraith Hands to carve a thin path on the walls, so I can easily trace where I've been.'
'I'm still getting the hand of using it, but like my other Skills, I'm learning how to use them without the help of the System. Although it'll take a few months for me to master that aspect.'
"I've been trying to reach the center of this zone, but I can't seem to find it… These Lizards seem to move around the place, but I can't tail them. It's too dangerous."
Samuel scratched his head before walking forward.
'If that's the case, I'll just resume what I was doing. No matter how large this place is, I'll eventually find its center if I keep moving.'
'I still have four hours…'
/Step…/
Samuel delved into the darkness, resuming his hunting spree.
…
/Three hours later…/
/Screetch!/
"Shut it."
/Splat!/
/Cling…/
[Forgotten Currency x609]
'Over 500 of these lizards… I'm getting better at this.'
During his time here, Samuel learned quite a bit about them.
Their weaknesses to their habits.
He learned how to listen for their clicks. They used it as a form of communication and localization.
After much practice, he learned how to barely copy it, distracting them like in a stealth game. It seems they think his clicks come from a child due to how they act when they hear him.
He learned that there was a pattern to these caverns, they were divided into eleven major areas with multiple criss crossing points within, but these points had an order.
He noticed that by following some major tunnels, he saw how some of those tunnels were similar to each other. After memorizing one, he noticed the next one was suspiciously repetitive, and the connecting paths followed a pattern.
With that in mind, he drew a mental map of the region and began following it. This hastened his search of the lizards as they almost exclusively remained within crisscrossing points leading deeper into the cavern system.
The lizards also grew stronger and more robust, although their overall levels had yet to bypass 60.
He also found other fountains but none of them were worth it so he moved past them.
He had time to look for more but it would be a lie to say he wasn't getting worried.
/Sha sha sha…/
/Click click…/
"!"
/Light…/
'Finally, it has to be here…'
/Shine…/
Samuel arrived at a wide area at the end of a dark corridor, light shining from within...
"!!"
It was a dome-shaped cavern tens of meters tall with a flat bottom where a pyramid had been built.
Surrounding it were hundreds… Thousands of lizards praying with their heads on the ground.
On the walls leading to the cavern were thousands of holes, some with stairs and others only leading down to the ground.
Samuel was before one such hole, the ground at least fifty meters below him.
The light came from the hundreds of glowing balls hung on the ceiling, like fireflies inside jars, they buzzed faintly as if something was inside.
His gaze eventually fell onto the pyramid.
Around it, he saw a bunch of lizardmen wearing full cloth armor, like druids in some games:
[Gray Moon Soldier Level 61]
[Gray Moon Soldier Level 62]
[Gray Moon Soldier Level 59]
Dozens of soldiers on all sides of the pyramid…
But that wasn't all. Once you began climbing the stairs, other types of creatures appeared:
[Gray Moon Seeker Level 50]
[Gray Moon Seeker Level 50]
[Gray Moon Seeker Level 50]
[Gray Moon Seeker Level 50]
[Gray Moon Seeker Level 50]
Hundreds of lizardman kneled on the many steps of the pyramid, holding a candle on they hands as they prayed silently.
And at the very top of the pyramid, he saw his final few enemies.
[Elite Gray Moon Knight Level 65] x10
Ten lizardman clad in metal armor protected a few individuals at the very center:
[Gray Moon Shaman Level 65]
[Gray Moon Shaman Level 65]
[Gray Moon Shaman Level 65]
[Elite Gray Moon Arch Shaman Level 70]
[Elite Gray Moon Arch Shaman Level 70]
[Galala Kituxwa Level 75]
Samuel could tell from a glance that those six individuals were all rather strong.
They seemed to be in a formation where three shamans stood back holding skulls as they chanted something while the two Arch Shamans tended to the main Boss as he painted something on a kanvas.
Samuel couldn't see very well from this distance, but that was how it looked like from this distance.
In his right mind, Samuel's first thought was to return to the caverns and grab a few Skills, but what he saw at the top of the pyramid made him change his mind.
'That's… There's a fountain built at the top of the pyramid!'
In all its glory, a single fountain stood at the edge of the pyramid, like a small altar.
'That's definitely where the good stuff is! And I bet it's going to be expensive… I'll likely have to take them all down…'
'Fine! I was planning on holding onto my Skill Points, but if I can get a Class change, even if just a slight raise from Grade E to D… I wouldn't mind buying a Level Reset item and doing this all from scratch again!'
'There are only so many Grade enhancing items you can stack on yourself before they lose effectiveness, if I can find one that isn't common on the market, that may be the difference between my future self being a B Grade or a C Grade.'
'Time to upgrade some Skills… I have twenty five Skill Points and two Upgrade Tokens.'
'First… I'll upgrade my sole AOE Skill.'
'Invest five points into Necrotic Volley.'
[Necrotic Volley Lv 0 -> Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
'It has to be this option.'
[Necrotic Volley Lv Max -> Necrotic Storm Lv0]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
'I'm not done yet… Invest five points into Necrotic Storm.'
[Necrotic Storm Lv0 -> Lv Max]
[Necrotic Storm Lv Max
Type: Conjuration/Spell
Cost: Flowing Ether (100)
Range: 50 Meters -> AOE of 10 Meters -> Small AOE of 2 Meters
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Description: Conjure a Necrotic cloud over a designated area that slowly hovers in a specific direction, unleashing up to five Necrotic Lightning bolts per second for the duration. Each bolt strikes random targets within the area, dealing 18% of the caster's maximum Life Force as damage upon impact. The bolts explode in a 2-meter radius, spreading Necrotic Bite to nearby enemies.
Necrotic Bite -> Instantly burns 15% of the target's total Life Force and reduces their resistance to Necrotic damage by 5% per strike for 1 minute.
If a target dies while affected by Necrotic Bite, they explode and transform into a Conduit.
Conduit -> A Conduit attracts bolts, prioritizing those surrounded by the highest density of non-Conduit enemies.
When Necrotic Lightning strikes a Conduit, it causes a secondary explosion in a 5-meter area and extends the duration of Necrotic Storm by 1 second for each enemy killed within the explosion. Conduits also amplify the damage of all future Necrotic Lightning strikes by 25%.
Base duration -> 5 seconds.
]
'It's a strong ability, as any other that has been mutated by my Talent. But the reason I didn't grab it was… I didn't quite need it.'
'Everything I had before did everything I needed, but hey, I kept those points to be used and now's the time.'
'With this, I have a reliable AOE Skill, and I still have fifteen points.'
'Next… Put five points into Shroud Step.'
[Shroud Step Lv 0-> Shroud Step Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
'Being safe is never too much… Next. This is a gamble, but I hope its worth it… Put five points into Wraith Hand.'
[Wraith Hand Lv 0-> Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
Samuel checked the upgrades for Wraith Hand and he was quite surprised.
'There are over four evolution lines for this?... Wings? What?...'
He read each option intently before making an immediate choice. Smiling widely as he did so.
[Wraith Hand Lv Max -> Soul Conduit Lv 0]
'Now invest the remaining five points into Soul Conduit.'
[Soul Conduit Lv 0-> Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
[Soul Conduit Lv Max
Type: Manipulation/Summoning
Cost: Life Force
Range: Self (Extends up to 20 meters)
Cooldown: N/A
Description: Manifest two significantly empowered, ethereal hands that extend from your Soul, being larger and more refined in their control and precision when compared to the caster's original.
These hands can hold and wield objects imbued with magical or unique abilities, allowing them to interact with items that require sentient or magical handling without penalties.
Soul Conduit may wield Class items up to ten Levels higher than the caster or five if they belong to a different Class, transferring 100% of their effects to the caster.
Soul Conduit can grasp, pull, manipulate items, or grapple onto surfaces to pull and push the caster or others within their range.
Soul Conduit works as an extension of the caster's body. However, they can pull and push the caster with some limitations without requiring an anchoring point.
The hands are immune to most physical attacks and slightly resist magical attacks. However, they amplify all taken, Soul-type damage by 50% back to the caster.
They have the same Physical power as the caster and are amplified by its Spiritual Power x2.5.
If given the authority, the hands will gain some degree of autonomy, allowing the caster to remain at a distance or multitask.
Skill Conduit -> Soul Conduit can cast any Skill without extra penalties given the conditions are met. Skill Costs still apply but cooldowns are shared independently.
Soul Conduit does not consume Life Force while within two Meters of the Caster and regenerate while in direct touch with the summoner.
Duration: 1 Minute per 2% Life Force.
]
'This is a strong Skill… It's to the point it may be better then a Unique one. To think grapple could incite such evolution…'
Samuela activated the Skill, and from behind him, a pair of giant, bluish green hands manifested.
He could feel the connection to them just as he felt with Wrath Hand, but it was deeper and more palpable. No joke intended.
Each hand was large enough to hold onto his head, their fingers were sharp, and its arm was clad in a faint layer of dark smoke as it left behind a small trail.
Two floating hands, they looked and felt strong.
'If I read everything right, I can use them to glide if not fly, I can use them to help me cast Skills, and they can also act as shields for me.'
'The 2.5 multiplier is very high, this means the total strength of these hands is equivalent to the sum of my Physical and Spiritual Stats. Adding up with its resistances, I can use it to fight for me or hold something at bay if an enemy gets too close.'
'But the Skill usage is the most important aspect of this Skill. I can't believe this is possible.'
'I can now cast multiple Skills at once, this is specially good when I'm in combat as I often receive more healing then I can spend.'
'I'm still not ready though, one last Skill and I'll it a day.'
'Use an Upgrade Token on Vile Harvest'
[Vile Harvest Lv 0 -> Vile Harvest Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
'I was between this and Debilitate since there's an evolution path that makes the Skill an AOE, but in the end, this is probably for the best.'
'If I make many corpses all around, I won't have to worry much about the rest.'
Samuel already had the most optimal Evolution path in mind:
[Vile Harvest Lv Max -> Corpse Reclamation Lv 0]
[Corpse Reclamation Lv 0
Type: Miscellaneous/Hex
Cost: Life Force (5%)
Range: Touch -> 30* 5 Meter Cone
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Description: Consume the target's physical form, draining their Life Force and temporarily decreasing their Physical Stat by 20, transferring it to yourself for 10 seconds.
The target is rooted for 2.5 seconds, and all damage they take is amplified by 20%.
Corpse Reclamation can be cast as a cone before the target, decreasing the previous effects and increasing its cooldown by 50%
Slaying the target under Corpse Reclamation's effect temporarily increases your Max Life Force by 25%, up to 500% for 20 minutes.
The caster gains 10% of the target's lost Life Force as an Overshield and a Stack of Robustness.
Robustness -> Physical Stat +2 for 5 minutes
Max Stacks: 20
These effects refresh with each successful instance.
Corpse Reclamation can be used to dismantle a corpse instantly and recover 5% of the caster's Total Life Force and 100 Flowing Ether.
Corpse Reclamation has no cooldown outside of combat.
Creatures processed through Corpse Reclamation yield increased loot..
]
'I could level it up further, this would decrease the cost and cooldown of the Skill and its overall stats, but I'll keep my last Token for an emergency.'
'The biggest point of this Skill is the fact that it can now affect targets in an area, and even if its effects are reduced, more range is everything I could ask for while being a Warlock.'
'The second thing is that the cost of the Skill changed to Life Force, which is even better as I "lack" Ether.'
'Well… I don't really lack Ether, but some of my evolved Skills cost a little, and that's because they have evolved.'
'My Skills are all fairly efficient for what they do, but my Class can't keep. If I weren't a Warlock, I would've been screwed, it looks like its fine, but its not fine to have a low cooldown Skill that costs almost a tenth of my Ether at Level 20.'
'Anyhow…'
"You know the plan, don't you?" He whispered as he looked at the hands
/Thumbs Up!/
The Hands raised their thumbs.
'Great, it's rather simple.'
'We'll mark all enemies, cast Necrotic Storm towards the center of the cavern, and then we'll cast Crimson Thorn before moving on with Shroud Step and repeating the process whenever possible.'
'The cavern is far too wide for me to reach the center of the crowd, but I can start a chain reaction through the outside, which is perfect since the creatures at the edge are the weakes and more susceptible to our attacks.'
'We must designate all elite members as exceptions for the thorns so they concentrate on killing everything around the pyramid first, and once we gather dozens if not hundreds of thorns… We'll have them all kill the priests and shamans.'
'If they begin counterattacking, we can prevent them before they have the chance, anyhow, we can always retreat to the caverns and fight a battle of attrition there.'
'If they get close, blast them with Corpse Reclamation, and if possible, you're allowed to use the bow to cast Maledic Arrow and Toxic Lance.'
'With this in mind… Commence!'
/Shake!/
The two hands shook to display their agreement.
[Vital Injection Lv 0]
The two hands rose high into the air, getting as close as they could to the crowd before casting the Skill.
/DRAIN!/
Samuel felt a massive drain as his body grew weak from hundreds of targets being marked, but he immediately replied by drinking some of his emergency potions.
"Activate Skill Graywood Apothecary. Create Temporary Altar."
[Graywood Apothecary Lv 0]
/Shine…/
A dark ball of runes manifested above his grimoire, pulsating, as if alive.
"Activate Skill, Necrotic Storm."
[Necrotic Storm Lv Max] x3
/Gather…/
/Thunder!/
""?!""
Three dark green clouds manifested directly above some of the believers around the pyramid, its loud thunders echoing around the cavern, startling everyone that was in deep prayer.
"Activate Skill, Crimson Thorn."
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
/BOOOM!/
/SPLAT!/
""GAAAHAAA?!!!""
Mayhem began.
"Activate Skill, Shroud Step."
[Shroud Step Lv Max]
As he vanished from sight he and his hands immediately followed suit by casting again:
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
And every second after…
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
[Shroud Step Lv Max]
Samuel didn't reveal himself for even a moment, chaining together as many Shroud Steps as he could as he kept casting Skills forward.
Once they moved to a new area…
[Vital Injection Lv 0]
He marked a new group, but the loss of Life Force was quickly pushed aside by the massive influx of energy…
[Necrotic Storm Lv Max] x3
At that moment, his cooldown came off, and he cast the clouds again.
Thanks to the combo of Necrotic Storm and Crimson Thorn, whenever a lightning bolt fell, a thorn would pierce, fueling this continuous process.
/Screams!/
The tribal folk began to scream in horror as disaster struck their people, and the Arch Shaman's were quick to notice the issue.
"Gaaaaa Gaaa…"
They screamed something in an incomprehensible tone to Samuel, and immediately after, the named Boss moved.
"..."
An elderly lizardman looked at the mayhem at the bottom of the pyramid and its eyes sharpened as much as they physically could.
His eyes darted around until he found a strange shadow dancing in the far distance.
"GUOOOOAAAAAA!!" He exclaimed as he pointed at Samuel
…
[Disclaimer!]
[You've been marked for execution by Galala Kituxwa's]
"!"
Immediately after, Samuel stumbled onto the wall, and just as he was about to fall, the hands grabbed him before throwing him into one of the caverns.
/BOOOOOM!/
Immediately after, a massive firebal crashed against the ground.
"Huff… What was that?!"
'Dislocation inhibition? Fuck…'
/SCREAM!/
"!"
Suddently, Samuel heard echoes coming from the corridors behind him.
The scattered Lizards were gathering once more.
"Shit, we can't fight like this. Have all of the Thorns aim at the pyramid!"
Although he couldn't control the targets, he could control their priorities.
In these few seconds that his thorns ravaged the crowd, the dozen he threw had already multiplied into hundreds.
As soon as he and the hands prohibited most of the crowd, the hundreds of thorns were all forced to aim at the same area…
The center!
/FWOOSH!/
"GUOA GAGROOOOO!!!"
The shaman's hurriedly tried to defend against the thorns, but they were incredible fast.
"... *!@#!@&(_#_!!!"
The named Boss exclaimed something as the thorns flew in his direction, and once he did, every thorn within a radius of him vanished…
/FWOOSH/
But while he may have disabled a few, there were dozens flying in his direction.
And all this while, Samuel and his spectral hands never stopped casting more.
"GUOOOHAAAA!!"
"!"
At that moment, he heard echoes coming from the pathway behind him, and like many others around him, dozens of lizardman began to flow into the central cavern like water being released from a damn.
[Vital Injection Lv 0]
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
/CLANG CLANG!/
"!"
/SPLAT/
"These fucking monsters…"
To his surprise, the lizardman parried two of his thorns before dying to the third one.
They weren't just fast and strong, they were skilled and, above all, intelligent.
'I need to buy time until I can move around again…'
/PUSH!/
"?!"
/BOOOOOOM!/
Suddenly, his spectral hands pushed him from the edge just as another firebolt smashed against it.
/Grab/
/Throw!/
/Jump!/
They grabbed him and threw him towards another entrance, and he used them as platforms to jump safely onto the ground below.
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
[Necrotic Storm Lv Max] x3
/BOOM!/
/BOOOM!/
/SPLAT!/
/LIGHTNING!/
"URG!"
A battle of attrition began as a dozen magical spells were thrown against him at every moment, and despite all the help from his hands, they kept being destroyed. They resumed as he moved around casting spells.
'As long as 100 Lizardmmen are fueling my powers…'
/SLASH!/
"ARRRG!! FUCK YOU!"
[Corpse Reclamation Lv 0] X3
There were so many lizardmen rushing from the caverns that Samuel was overwhelmed, slashed in the chest as he lost his composure.
But in response, both he and his hands used Corpse Reclamation on the nearby lizardman before they died.
He then jumped into the ground around the pyramid, knowing he couldn't remain at the edges anymore.
'Their numbers keep increasing but so does my power. Every enemy I slay with Corpse Reclamation raises my total Life Force which increases the percentage damage I deal and every death from Vital Injection amplifies my damage by 0.5%!'
[Energized x421… x432… x479… x536…]
Each second that passed the number kept increasing, fueling this process constantly.
/BOOOOOM!/
'The closer I get the easier it is for them to fire at me, and they don't seem to care about their friends…'
"GUAGSA!!!"
[Disclaimer!]
[You've been affected by the Curse of Slowness]
[You've been affected by the Curse of Weakness]
[You've been affected by the Curse of Blindness]
[You've been affected by the Curse of…]
A dozen sounds echoed around his ears, and Samuel knew things were…
"Activate Skill, Condemn the Cowardly!"
He aimed his hand at the named Boss before his vision vanished, but the only thing he saw before everything went dark was the boss grabbing the dark wisp around his head and crushing it before him.
'... I'm fucked…'
"Not yet… Focus all Thorns on the pyramid! Send them in batches so he can't dispel them all!"
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
He didn't care where they were coming from, he just kept blasting.
[Necrotic Storm Lv Max] x3
Blind, he cast his Aoe Skill above himself and prayed…
/BOOOOOM!/
"ARRRG!"
A fireball hit him, and he felt his entire body turn to ash…
His Life Force hit rock bottom for a second before hitting max again.
'Even with my health, I'll die for their attacks, the difference in Level is too high even with my increased health.'
"Activate Skill Graywood Apothecary. Craft Health Boost potion!"
[Graywood Apothecary Lv 0]
[Crafting…]
Above his burning grimoire, the dark ball of runes condensed, leaving behind a single potion:
/DRINK!/
/SPLAT!/
"COUGH?!"
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
He immediately drank the potion mere moments before a sword punctured his throat.
[Life Essence Potion: Maximum Life Force is raised by 580%]
An incredible potion created through the sacrifices of hundreds of lizardmen.
As soon as it was created, the ball vanished, but Samuel immediately created another temporary altar, continuing the process.
"COUGH!... Let's see who dies first!" He said after his throat healed
His teeth bleeding, he continued to fire as mayhem spread around him.
/LIGHTNING!/
/CLANG!/
/BOOM!/
Skills after skills were thrown all around him, lightning fell, bodies pilled up, magic was thrown, and blood was spilled…
In this desperate moment, Samuel didn't even realize that he had begun casting Skills without activating them.
His equipment was destroyed, his staff was lost, and his book barely clung to its life.
And after a few seconds in this thug of war…
[The Curse of Blindness has been lifted]
"!"
'I can see again.'
"ROAAAARRR!"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Samuel exclaimed as he raised his hand
[Corpse Reclamation Lv 0]
/DRAIN!/
/SPLAT!/
[The Curse of Slowness has been lifted]
/Turn!/
He turned his head toward the pyramid.
'Yes! It worked!'
All the shamans and knights were dead, punctured by a thousand thorns.
[Energized x1091… x1170… x1380… x1622…]
The Lizardmen were incessant, but at this point, the only thing they did was increase his power!
Each time they broke his ethereal hands, they only came back stronger. Each of their deaths only made his next attack stronger…
The ground was litered with corpses, although for some reason, they had yet to vanish.
'I don't feel good about this…'
[Energized x1802… x2020… x2245… x2753…]
"What's happening?! The Boss stopped casting spells…"
Over one thousand tribalmen were killed within a minute, yet the Boss refused to fight.
'This isn't good!'
/RUN!/
He began running towards the pyramid. He had to end this now, and at the same time, it would also gather all of the remaining tribalmen at the center.
/Pull!/
The ethereal hands pulled him up the pyramid-like birds pulling a cartoon carater, and at its top, he saw what was happening:
"GOAAGAHAAAAA @#(@#)$__(#!!!"
The named Boss, with a few deep wounds on its body, raised the severed head of one of its compatriots as it remained before a small altar.
"!"
'STOP IT!'
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
/BOOOOM!/
/SPLAT!/
The boosted thorns pierced through its body, but the Boss did not put a resistance.
In fact, it smiled.
"?!"
/SHINE!/
/TREMBLE…/
/BOOOOOOOM!/
At that moment, the entire pyramid shook before exploding, sending Samuel high into the sky.
"... What happened?"
/Growl…/
"!"
[Corrupted Sun Lion Level 100(65)]
A gorgeous black lion emerged from the rubble of the pyramid, howling as it stretched its limbs.
'Another Boss monster… It has to die, now!'
[Crimson Thorn Lv Max] x3
[Necrotic Storm Lv Max] x3
Samuel could feel that if he gave the lion too much time, something terrible would happen…
/Shua!/
"?!"
/SWIPE!/
[Shroud Step Lv Max]
The lion vanished, reappearing behind him.
It tried to swipe at him, but it failed as he also vanished, reappearing on the ground.
/SPLAT!/
The moment he did so, his chest burst with blood.
"Cough!... Ugr…"
'It's attack passed through Shroud Step… This is bad. It's Level is too high! But… It's not at its strongest point yet!'
/ROAAR!/
/Vanish…/
"NOWWWW!!"
The moment the lion reappeared to attack him, Samuel acted.
[Corpse Reclamation Lv 0] X2
Knowing the beast would move in his direction, he had all of the targets except the lion be banned, and the moment it appeared behind him…
And at the same time, his ethereal hands drained it's lifeforce, weakening the beast.
/LIGHTNING!/
Because they were underneath a cloud, it was also struck by it…
[Debilitate Lv 0]
[Condemn the Cowardly Lv 0]
All Skills he could release within a second were used.
/PURGE!/
The lion tried to evade the attack, but it was suddently purged, and even with its immeasurable resistance, causing the purge to last a fraction of a second…
/PIERCE!!/
It was still hit by a few of the 1000 thorns that flew from all around towards them.
And once a few connected, it disrupted its ability, and soon enough, more followed…
[Shroud Step Lv Max]
"ROAAARRRR!!"
/SPLAT!/
Samuel evaded the thorns by vanishing into a hole and ducking his head.
/SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT!/
/DRAIN!/
He immediately felt his Life Force return multiple times…
As he went out of the hole, he saw the thorns return to their usual activities as they slew all targets around them.
And this wasn't from his command. This was thanks to his ethereal hands, which at the nick of the moment, removed the restriction, allowing them to purge everything once more.
/Drop…/
"Haaa… Haaa… It hurts… No, it doesn't… But I need to rest…"
The phantom pain from his injuries plagued him, but his body was fine.
All enemies were dead, and now, only a few Lizardmen remained, but within the next seconds, they would all vanish as well under the torrent of crimson thorns…
"Haa… Wait, I can't waste time like this!"
The timer was still counting, and he didn't know where the fountain was…
/Point…/
But his ethereal hands knew.
They pointed him towards a direction, and he followed without hesitation.
/PULL!/
With their great strength, they slowly removed the rubble from the ground, revealing a small hole full of water.
Although the fountain as broken, this was from where it pumped its water.
"Shit… Will this work?"
To confirm it, he threw a small marble inside…
[Nightshade Nectarine -> Stained Token]
[Shiek of Lal-Lur -> Fallen Trinket x2]
[Finger of Corruption -> Fallen Trinket]
[Galala Kituxwa's Skull -> Fallen Trinket x3]
…
A series of items appeared before him.
'It works!'
But there was a problem: most of them items were valued in a strange currency he had never seen before…
/Grab… Pull…/
As he read them, one of the ethereal arms went out of his back and reached out for a nearby small broken tooth on the ground.
Once Samuel inspected it…
[Fallen Trinket]
"So that's what it was…"
'Could this be a rare drop? Or is it something dropped solely by the higher-level mobs?'
"I can't stay here, time to sweep the area!"
'We don't have much time, so we'll grab what we can with the time we have left!'
[Time remaining until gate closure: 42 minutes, 12 seconds…]
…
/Over half an hour later…/
"Come on team! We can't stop here, huff… We need to be faster!"
[Forgotten Currency x3359]
'I can't feel my fingers anymore…'
Grabbing the marbles wasn't hard, but they were often tucked away in some corner or crack, which made everything harder.
At the very least he didn't have to use Corpse Reclamation to gather the loot…
"Huff… I still have ten minutes…"
'Come on, just a little more…'
/Five minutes later…/
[Forgotten Currency x4021]
'That's it, I can't gather it anymore!'
Samuel ran to the broken fountain, staring at his reflection as he reread the notifications:
[Nightshade Nectarine -> Stained Token]
"I don't know what that is and nor can I inspect it… But I only have one Stained Token. There's also one option for that…"
'The Stained Token likely came from the secret Boss I killed… It gives me shivers thinking about it.'
'As for the rest, there are dozens of items and skills that can be bought with Fallen Trinkets, they're likely the drops from the other high rank lizard people.'
'Everything is quite good and even though I deslike chosing items… Some of them are really good.'
'Finally, there are hundreads of items I can buy with Forgotten Currency. Most of it is trash but some of the higher priced items are quite good… Like potions that give Stats to even potions that give Skill points.'
'But I think I'll grab these:'
[Essence of Strength -> Forgotten Currency x1000]
[Essence of Happiness -> Forgotten Currency x1000]
[Essence of Glee -> Forgotten Currency x1000]
[Essence of Devotion -> Forgotten Currency x1000]
"These are… Stat increasing items, but not just any items…"
[Essence of Strength -> Increases Physical Stat gain per Level by 5, does not stack with anything other than itself]
[Essence of Happiness -> Increases Mental Stat gain per Level by 5, does not stack with anything other than itself]
[Essence of Devotion -> Increases Spiritual Stat gain per Level by 5, does not stack with anything other than itself]
[Essence of Self -> Increases Ether Stat gain per Level by 5, does not stack with anything other than itself]
'This means that my Traits won't work anymore, but I don't care. An increase of five is already a ridiculous number. It's higher then even some of the greatest talents that is.'
'I saw an option before as I hunted the lizards in the caverns and thought about buying one, but it seems this place was made to give you the option to buy all.'
"If you muder everything…"
A little confused about what to do now, Samuel unloaded 4000 marbles onto the fountain, causing them to dissolve.
Soon enough, the screen in front of him brightened, giving him the chance to buy them.
/Plop…/
Once he chose, the dissolved marbles were condensed into four small dark glass bottles, each containing a transparent liquid.
"... Hopefully, this is safe." He muttered to himself as he stored the potions inside his inventory
"Next…"
'I have five Fallen Trinkets, if I were to guess, two dropped from the Arch Shamans and three from the named Boss.'
'But here… Things get a little funky.'
'Do I go for the items… Or do I go for Skills? At least now there are no consumables, only tangible things.'
'Some options are more expensive than others, and for good reason…'
"Alright, I know what to do."
Samuel made his choice, buying everything he had to buy, leaving behind only some Forgotten Currency behind.
He began perusing the cheap section as his ethereal arms checked for any remainder loot…
But just as he did so…
[Time remaining until gate closure: 0 minutes, 0 seconds…]
[The Solo Special Dungeon, Forgotten Sanctuary is closing]
"Ah…! Wait! I still have a little bit to spend!"
But he wasn't even given the time to complain, before he knew, he had been sucked into the void.
…
/Thud…/
"... I'm back… Ahhh… Glorious sunlight."
The first thing he did was take a deep breath. But as soon as he recovered his bearings, he looked around warily.
He wasn't in any position to relax after all.
'It's time, let's see if anything changed.'
The only item he couldn't read its description:
[Nightshade Nectarine -> Eat it to receive the Class: Lunaris Corruptor.
Requirement: Warlock or any advanced Class originated or directly connected to it.
]
"!!"
'Jackpot! A hidden Class! Well… I've never heard of it before and I made my research on the way here. There isn't any Class with this name.'
'It could be bad, but honestly… Anything's better than Warlock!'
There were many benefits to having a Hidden Class, with the biggest one being the chance to get Skill Books never seen before.
The problem with being the first one to get it is that he'll never be able to buy anything related to it from shops, but as its a direct Evolution of Warlock, he can still acquire Warlock Skills and integrate them into his repertoire from shops and the like.
'I just have to eat it?... I don't like the idea of eating it like this but if I try to have it identified… I'm not confident on what may happen.'
'I need to have it done here. But first I'll find a place to stay.'
"I'll avoid popular areas, I think I know a good place…"
'It's still barely 3 Pm, the day is still very long.'
Samuel turned to the side, vanishing into the forest, leaving behind a trail of red through the grass.
…
Later, Samuel sat down inside a hollow tree, it's sole entrance hidden by leaves.
"It's now or never! Everyone ready?"
/Thumbs Up!/
His two ethereal hands raised their thumbs. If anything bad happened, they were ready to pull him through the land and into safety if necessary.
He didn't know if they would still function if he went unconscious, but given they didn't consume anything if they were close, he expected them to maintain themselves.
"Alright…"
/Crunch!/
"Hm… Actually, this is…"
/Crunch!/
"Quite good. Very sweet… I was never a fan of apple-like fruits but this…"
/Crunch!/
/Crunch!/
/Crunch!/
"Haaaa… It doesn't have a seed… Damn. What a meal… Huh?"
For a moment, Samuel forgot what this was supposed to be about.
[You have consumed the Nightshade Nectarine]
[Your body is going through a change…]
[Your Class, Warlock E has changed to the Hidden Class, Lunaris Corruptor S]
[Life Bullet Lv 0 -> Crescent Bullet Lv 0]
[Smoke Skip Lv 0 -> Bound Warp Lv 0]
[Condemn the Cowardly Lv 0 -> Stygian Exposure Lv 0]
[Your…]
[Processing…]
[You have Awakened the Class, Lunar Phantasm O]
[Hunter Supplies Lv 0 -> Astral Craft Lv0]
[Debilitate Lv 0 -> Celestial Anchor Lv0]
[Revitalization Lv 0 -> Nebula Renewal Lv0]
[The awakening process has ended]
[Your experience gauge is resetting]
[Level 20 -> 0]
"What?... What just happened?!"
'My Class changed… It mutated… Don't tell me that my talent affects that too?!'
'Don't tell me… Does it affect everything?!'
Confused, Samuel opened his Status Panel:
[Name: Samuel Necrom D'Lurge
Age: 17 Years & 11 months…
Class: Warlock E / Lunar Phantasm O
Level: 0
Life Force: 100%
Flowing Ether: 200
Attributes =>
Physical(+): 10
Mental(+): 20
Spiritual(+): 10
Ether: 5
Skills (⍺) ->
Crescent Bullet Lv 0
Bound Warp Lv 0
Stygian Exposure Lv 0
Vile Harvest Lv 0
Necrotic Volley Lv 0
Wraith Hand Lv 0
Skills (ꞵ) ->
Astral Craft Lv0
Celestial Anchor Lv0
Nebula Renewal Lv0
Maledic Arrow Lv 0
Toxic Lance Lv 0
Skill Points: 40
Upgrade Tokens: 4
Traits:
…
]
"Wait… I'm now a Dual Class?!"
'I already knew that I wasn't a Dual Class because I wasn't receiving any boost on my leveling, but to think…'
'There are two types of Dual Class. The first is additive, where the Stats and Ratios of each Class are added up. It's the strongest form of Dual Class, but also the rarest and oftentimes it has its demerits. It usually appears in people whose Classes don't match each other, causing conflict.'
'The second one is where the Ratios and Stat increases of each Class are compared and the highest ones are chosen first.'
'So if you have a Berserker Class that gives a lot of Life Force and Physical power, while a Mage Class with lots of Ether and Spiritual power, both fuse and create a new, singular structure.'
'It seems my Status regressed to it's basic state but my new Class' awakening Stats didn't apply, a shame, but nothing to cry over, at most half a level worth of Stats at best.'
'Meanwhile, I can already tell the difference in my Flowing Ether! The Ratio is four times higher than before!'
'From 1:10 to 1:40!! What an increase, its comparable to most ultra high grade magical Classes…'
"Strangely enough… It seems I retained my Warlock E… How sad, but it's okay, that just means I need to find a good Ranger Class to evolve and I'll know my Class will mutate and evolve."
"But this… Lunar Phantasm O. What does 'O' stand for? I've never seen this classification before."
"I've seen S+ and even legendary S++ Classes before… Could it be people hiding the truth from the citizens to close the gap between them and those above?"
'I'm just theorizing, but there's something unusual going on… Like I've stumbled into a secret I'm not ready to face.'
"Also… My initial Skills evolved to meet the new Class standards… But when I lost my Warlock Class, my Skills kept their evolutions… This means I just got a free upgrade? I won't complain."
'Six Skills… They're all Unique and likely very… Very strong, specially the new Ranger ones. I wouldn't be surprised if they were comparable to Second or Third advancement Skills. Maybe even further then that…'
'I don't know how many Stats or Skill points I'll receive per Level, but that's for later. After all, I'll have to redo all of my notes regarding my Skill trees…'
'Finally, the biggest haul of them all… 40 Skill Points and 4 Upgrade Tokens… How utterly… Marvelous!'
'It likely won't matter much once I'm supper high Level, but this means that I'm 20 levels ahead of everyone…'
'And I'm an O Class holder!... Whatever that means.'
"Welp, that's about it… But before I go…"
/Pop!/
/Gulp!/
Samuel drank the four strange potions, it was the perfect time to add them to his portfolio.
[You've consumed the Essence of Strength]
[You've consumed Essence of Happiness]
[You've consumed Essence of Devotion]
[You've consumed Essence of Self]
[...
Traits:
Essence of Strength
Essence of Happiness
Essence of Devotion
Essence of Self
…
]
"... So this is how it feels to be rich and full of resources…"
Samuel took a deep breath…
'It's time for me to leave, I need to redo my calculations and prepare for tomorrow.'
'I'll just repeat what I did today tomorrow, there should be no problem with me Leveling Up to 20 again…'
"No… Maybe there'll be…"
'The higher grade your Class is, the harder it is to Level Up… I've heard it can be several times harder…'
'Even if I were to repeat what I did here today, I may not be able to even reach Level 10. In fact, Level 5 could be too much…'
"Tsk… I'll have to reevaluate my plans."
'Anyhow, I know exactly what I'll Level Up first…'
'Invest 5 points into Wraith Hand!'
[Wraith Hand Lv 0 -> Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
Samuel checked the Skill Tree, but there wasn't anything new there.
'I expected something would change, but I imagine it's only for the Beta Skills and not the Alpha ones, aside from the three that evolved.'
'This makes things simpler then. No need to even think.'
'I would've checked the other possible Evolutions on a Virtual Dungeon… But I've grown attached to these.'
'Sometimes, it's not about pure power, and even if I need it in the future, with this Class, I believe I'll have the money to reset everything if I need to!'
'Besides, I can just go and see how it could be through a Virtual Dungeon anyway, if nothing cool pops up, I'll just keep it anyway.'
'Unless I go to a Super expensive Virtual Dungeon that can simulate my Levels all the way to 100, there's no point in micromanaging things.'
'It would also take too long, the simple branching paths each Skill could get… It's boundless… And imagine spending days upon days researching only for everything to come crashing down with a Class change like this?'
'It's too early for me to invest so much time into these, but a few hours of research is nothing much.'
'It was what made me so successful in the first place.'
Samuel made his choice.
[Wraith Hand Lv Max -> Soul Conduit Lv 0]
'Invest 5 points into Soul Conduit!'
[Soul Conduit Lv 0-> Lv Max]
[New choices have opened in your Skill Tree]
As he did that, he summoned his two floating helpers, they were very happy to see him and so was he.
"This is one of the most versatile Skills I've seen, I can't give them up at all. You've saved my life more then once."
/Thumbs Up!/
"Yeah."
/Knuckle/
He knocked his fist with the two floating hands, and with a smile, he left his hole in the tree.
"... Time to leave this place."
'If I'm not mistaken, the way out is in this direction…' He thought as he narrowed his eyes.'
/Fly!/
One of his ethereal hands flew up high, and after a moment, they returning, pointing at a direction.
"Right, you can see the entrance beacon from everywhere in the Plane, I forgot about that, nice call." He said as he crossed his arms
The two ethereal hands moved to his shoulders, clutching onto it like a cape.
'Damn! I feel so cool…'
[Name: Samuel Necrom D'Lurge
Age: 17 Years & 11 months…
Class: Warlock E / Lunar Phantasm O
Level: 0
Life Force: 100%
Flowing Ether: 200
Attributes =>
Physical(+): 10
Mental(+): 20
Spiritual(+): 10
Ether: 5
Skills (⍺) ->
Crescent Bullet Lv 0
Bound Warp Lv 0
Stygian Exposure Lv 0
Vile Harvest Lv 0
Necrotic Volley Lv 0
Soul Conduit Lv Max
Skills (ꞵ) ->
Astral Craft Lv0
Celestial Anchor Lv0
Nebula Renewal Lv0
Maledic Arrow Lv 0
Toxic Lance Lv 0
Skill Points: 30
Upgrade Tokens: 4
Traits:
Essence of Strength
Essence of Happiness
Essence of Devotion
Essence of Self
…
]
With one final look at his Status, he went back home.
Entered a newbie and returned with a little more experience.
One Plane at a time, until he ruled them all.
…
/Later…/
/Whispers…/
Samuel returned to the entrance shop of the plane, and he was immediately attacked by dozens of gazes and whispers.
He didn't care about them but they were annoying.
And to some degree, they were correct in looking.
His armor set was beyond redemption at this point, being thorn, stretched, scorched, and sliced everywhere. To the point his hoodie could pass as a rug wrapped around his head then anything else.
It had been utterly broken as even its effects didn't not apply anymore.
His staff was gone, and he threw his grimoire away after it had lost its use, leaving him empty-handed.
He wasn't unprotected without it, but it wasn't what others thought…
To some degree, he thought about taking his clothes off, but after realizing he had nothing else to exchange them with, he just went through with it and bit the bullet.
Better that then returning with his pajamas…
"... Youngster?..." The old man asked as he let out a weak and barely noticeable sigh
"Here, just calculate the total for me and deposit it in my account, nothing else." He said as he took the ring out of his neck
"You still have it? I thought… Excuse me."
As he said that, he pressed a button, and an opaque glass wall covered his surroundings, preventing others from seeing what he was doing.
"It's okay. Let's just get this over with. But before you do, do you still have the commissions?"
"I have most of them since the parties are still raiding the outside. There's been a slight irregularity at the beginning hours, but it's normalized by now." He said as he placed the ring atop a small machine
"Irregularity? What happened?"
"Many of the popular hunting grounds surrounding this place had been picked clean with nothing but blood left behind… It was quite the story. I couldn't go there to confirm it myself, you know how it is." He said as he grew confused at how long it was taking for the machine to process his ring
"Uhum…"
'They're talking about me, how odd… Is this how it feels to be famous?'
"... It's taking a while."
"This isn't common, it should be over soon…"
[Din!]
"Aha… Here is the amount, let me…!"
At that moment, the old man saw the calculated amount for the value of the items inside the ring and his expression opened wide.
He turned to look at the young man, but now, his gaze had turned severe rather than calm.
The old man's eyes momentarily sharpened…
[Level: 0]
"Is there a problem?"
"No… Not at all. Here, this is the total amount, it's the usual rates based on the market's flow. If you need of these items…"
"The ones I need I already separated, do I have to report them as well?"
"Yes… Here, just show me what you want to bring otside and I'll do the rest. There won't be any inspection outside but if you desire to sell these legitimately, you'll need to show them the proper document, which you can get from me."
"... Alright." He said as he took out a few items from his inventory, putting them on the table
They were mostly the rarer drops from the Boses he slew and the Skill Books he acquired.
"..."
The old man raised an eyebrow as he looked at the items, but he eventually scanned them all and gave Samuel a document after stamping it.
"Here, you now legally own all of these. Congratulations on your first Plane Raid."
"Thanks… Before I go, do you all sell clothes?..." He asked as he stored everything inside his inventory
"Of course we do. But most of them are specialized equipment. You're likely looking for our emergency supplies… Here, this one should get you home."
"You guys have emergency clothes?"
"Of course we have. Can't have everyone that enters a plane leave all bloody?"
"How else would people leave?"
"Ha… We once had to change rooms outside of Planes, but we eventually transitioned to having them inside since it's simpler. And in recent times, we started taking money for these simple services… You know how it is, "A dime an hour makes a mountain a fountain"... I call them greedy."
"Aren't you the one working here?"
"Ha! I'm only an old Awakener, merely here to make sure everything runs smoothly. You know, it's in the blood… But that's an old story, now get to it. You're staining the room with blood."
"..."
"The changing room is to the right. I'll deduct it directly from the amount. Once you're finished, just ask for the ring, and it'll take you out." He said as he gave the ring back to Samuel
"Don't forget to return the ring to the one at the entrance… Sometimes, they forget to ask, and that'll only get you in trouble."
"Okay…"
Samuel walked to the right as the opaque walls vanished, and after a few minutes, he left the Plane.
…
/Around half an hour later…/
/Thud!/
"Haaa… Home, sweet home…"
/Bzzzz../
'... Already?'
The first thing he did once he arrived was to collapse on his bed. He knew he was dirty but he didn't care.
And as soon as he did so, he turned on his phone, which immediately burst with activity.
"... Might as well."
He was tired, but he needed a second shower.
He took a quick one back in the Plane, but he was still smelling badly, and if his mom were to see him like this…
So he took his phone and went to take a shower.
…
.
.
.
Notes
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