บท 14: Unexpected encounters.
4 minutes after encountering the Dire Wolves, Ken discovered a large hole in the ground, roughly 2 meters wide. It led to a 5-meter drop down to the second floor.
Without hesitation, Ken jumped down, landing on his feet effortlessly, and began to jog away. He did his best to ignore or evade monsters like goblins, kobolds, and wolves as much as possible, keeping the time in mind. Fortunately, he did not encounter any Dire Wolves.
"Status," Ken called out, checking his growth, which wasn't much, but that was due to his lack of focus on gaining stats.
---Status---
Name: Ken Valxin.
Level: 27 → 31| 29% done!
Class: None | Pick a class!!!!!!
Title: Anomaly, The Hunter of Aggressors, The Strongest Player
Power: 312 →438
Magic: 10
-----------------
'Hmm, I'm already at level 31. I should be able to get my stats up to 600 or so now. Meh, it wouldn't matter much in the long run.'
Ken didn't dwell on his level too much, but he reminded himself to focus more on improving his stats rather than just gaining levels. After all, levels only increase the potential for gaining stats.
After just a minute on the second floor, Ken suddenly stumbled upon a water stream. It was a small stream, about 1 to 2 feet deep and wide. And it was right at a crossroads too.
"Oh? Looks like the quest just got a lot easier," Ken mused with a grin, but the system had the opposite reaction.
[Bruh... why did you have to get lucky now... WHAT THE HELL MAN!!!]
she shouted in frustration and exasperation.
"Hey, there was a pond on the 10th floor. I was curious how there was a pond there, but it looks like my question was just answered!" Ken chuckled and began to follow the stream.
This was an unexpected find—a water stream flowing into the dungeon. Since there was a pond on the 10th floor, it meant that water had a way to flow down. Ken really got lucky here; this alone saved him a lot of time.
[I hate this already...]
Ken started to run, following the water stream, and not even 2 minutes in, he discovered how the water flowed down to the 3rd floor—a wide tunnel that led downward.
But on the third floor, Ken came face to face with something very unusual, something that wasn't depicted in the anime or the novel.
A small tiger was drinking from the widened water stream. The tiger was about 1 foot tall, fluffy, and had glowing blue eyes.
It slowly turned to Ken, sniffed the air, and began to walk toward him.
(Image of the little tiger in the comments and in my discord server!)
Ken looked at the little tiger curiously, feeling no threat from it. He knelt down and patted the little tiger, which immediately purred.
[So, you encounter a random tiger in the middle of a dungeon and it purrs when you pet it...]
The system dryly remarked, puzzled by the situation. She was coming around, She didn't have much to do except watch Ken or go through the anime; the anime wasn't as entertaining as watching Ken, so she quickly lost interest. Plus, she was stuck with him, so being mad didn't make much sense to her.
'If I can, I will,' Ken mentally replied as the little tiger rubbed its head against his hand.
[Why is there even a tiger here? And such a small one at that?]
'No clue about that,' Ken shrugged.
And suddenly...
"LUNA!!! STOP RUNNING AWAY!!" A girl's shout echoed from deeper within, causing both Ken and Luna, the little tiger, to look.
From a corner, a girl suddenly dashed out but halted when she saw Ken.
She was a very pretty girl with long pink hair and pink gem-like eyes. She wore a white shirt, a mid-thigh length red skirt, and a black leather corset with laces on the side.
The girl pursed her lips upon seeing Ken and took a step forward, but she tripped on a rock.
"Aaaahhh!" she cried out as she fell, landing directly in the water stream. Fortunately, the stream wasn't deep, but that left her in an awkward position on all fours, her back turned to Ken and Luna, with her skirt flipped up.
[She has a nice round ass! And pink panties too!] the system chimed in mischievously. [If you smack that ass, I will forgi—HEY!!! WHY AREN'T YOU LOOKING AT HER!!!] the system screeched in sudden exasperation.
Both Ken and Luna weren't looking; Ken continued to pet Luna, while Luna focused solely on the affection she was receiving.
[Come on!! You're in your teens; how can you look away from such a good view? She's completely wet! Top to bottom!]
The system expressed her annoyance in response to Ken's logical yet disinterested reply, 'Of course, she is wet; she fell in a water stream. And yes, I am still a teen, but if you have forgotten, 16 is the age of adulthood here in BlueVail.'
[I still hate you.]
The system huffed again and fell silent.
The girl shook her head and immediately stood up, her face flushed red with embarrassment as she adjusted her skirt and glanced over her shoulder to see if Ken was looking.
Seeing him pet Luna made her sigh in relief, but her face remained red. 'No... he should have seen me and looked away... I knew I shouldn't have worn such a short skirt!' she lamented in her mind, regretting her choice of clothing.
She slowly got out of the water stream, careful not to fall, and walked over to Luna who looked at her helplessly. Ken shifted his attention to her, and immediately the girl blushed more.
'Oh my God, he is good-looking!' She came to a halt and squealed in her mind. 'He must be a noble too! There's no way someone so good-looking could be among the commoners or low-ranking nobles!'
"I apologize for my unfortunate accident. I am Sophy, and the little one you are petting is Luna," she introduced herself, her body language calm and composed, but her face was bright red, barely keeping her internal thoughts contained.
(Image of Sophy in the comments and in discord server!)
Ken stood up and turned to Sophy, who had to tilt her head back slightly to meet his gaze. She was just 5'5" tall, while Ken stood at 6 feet.
[Do you know this girl?] the system asked curiously.
'No idea, but she seems like trouble. She's definitely a noble, and Luna must be her familiar or guardian,' Ken responded to the system before speaking to Sophy.
"Don't worry about it; I didn't see anything," Ken said formally, his tone shifting to a more dismissive one. "And my name is Ken. It's a pleasure to meet you, but I need to be on my way." Ken didn't intend to waste more time talking to Sophy, who, in his mind, represented trouble.
"uh... I see," Sophy mumbled, her thoughts racing, 'I can't just let him go! He looks to be someone from the Higher Nobles, I should try and make some connection at least... but He is wearing commoner clothes, is he possibly hiding? , I should go with him!'
"Is it possible that I accompany you?" She requested, her voice low, looking straight into Ken's eyes.
Ken shook his head and stepped away, "I am on limited time, and Luna seems to disapprove of your decision," he started to walk away, 'No way...I already have a system to cause me trouble don't join in, I would gladly avoid you...' Ken hastened his pace not wanting her to follow.
Sophy was taken aback and confused while Luna glanced at Ken's back, a glint of understanding flashing in her eyes. She placed her paw on Sophy's leg, catching her attention.
Sophy and Luna gazed into each other eyes, a silent understanding passing between them. Sophy pursed her lips, nodded, and turned around to say something to Ken but he was already gone.
"He's already left... Sigh, what a terrible day... Someone saw me from behind... and that person must be a Higher Noble... I can't even do anything," Sophy sighed. She felt embarrassed, but when she saw Ken properly, she guessed he was a Higher Noble from his good looks, she was unsure but decided not to make a fuss.
Meanwhile, Ken was sprinting alongside the water stream, not wasting any time now.
Ken encountered a few monsters, but they were there for the water, allowing him to rush past without needing to fight.
Soon enough, the water led down to the 4th floor, and just seconds later, it brought him to the 5th floor. Ken was already halfway through the dungeon, having barely spent 20 minutes inside.
He found the water leading down to the 6th floor, but there were monsters there—wolves that Ken easily dispatched. It would have been troubling if they were Dire wolves.
On the 6th floor, Ken finally reached a dead end. The water stream split into smaller streams, all flowing under the walls, through small paths, or creating potholes around some slightly larger passages.
[FINALLY!! YOU HIT A DEAD END!]
The system was filled with joy, but Ken wasted no time in bursting that joy bubble. "Yeah, and I've been on the 6th floor for over 35 minutes. The best part is, the lower the floor, the more entrances to the next."
Ken rounded a corner and made his point when he discovered a tunnel leading down to the next floor. The tunnel was damp but still passable.
[Ugh... why is that a thing...]
Ken chuckled as he moved ahead.
[Sigh... First, you didn't smack Sophy's round, plump ass, and now you're making the quest look easy...] the system complained. [She even wore pink panties, and they were see-through because of how wet she was...]
"..."
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(Author's note: Levels don't give stats. I plan to introduce the concept of the Leveling system slowly. but If you want to know about how levels work sooner then read the auxiliary chapter, 'Scaling and Stuff'.)
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