章節 82: Variant
A golden figure could be seen dashing around the room using the walls to rapidly change direction. It continued maneuvering around a group of four Minotaurs who futilely attacked by throwing rocks and trying to hit the figure with their weapons. The figure, Vahn, had been trying to push his [Featherfoot] skill to the next level by using his increased agility to enhance his omnidirectional combat ability.
Like Lili, Vahn was using fast attacks and the environment to his advantage instead of directly engaging the enemies. He bounded off both the walls and floors and entered between the gaps of the Minotaurs attacks. Using his bow, he was targeting their joints and other weak points to adapt himself to moving while firing in mid-air. Vahn learned it was especially effective to hit the contracting points of muscles near the ligaments as it would disable the limb. He also focused on areas like the eyes and neck to reduce their combat potential before aiming at their defenseless cores and finishing them off.
After the four Minotaurs had died, Vahn released a tired sigh as he wiped the sweat from his brow. It had taken him nearly three hours, but he had finally hunted his goal of 50 minotaurs. Luckily, this floor seemed to be mainly comprised of small groups of them and there weren't too many other monsters around. Vahn had noticed it was much easier to fight against a single type of monster as he could adapt his combat style to counter their unique traits instead of having to change focus for each enemy type.
It was already after midnight, and Vahn was finally started to feel fatigued. Though he could stay in the Báihǔ form for a very long period of time, as he was focused on trying to adopt a new combat style it drained a lot of stamina. He would have to find a way to balance his methods in the future or he might get winded in longer engagements. The main reason he was focusing on speed right now was, after his encounter with the Juggernaut, the only thing he could think of was wanting to be faster.
Though he was still in the middle of a floor, Vahn decided to take a short break and rest. He canceled his transformation and extended his domain to sense any approaching enemies as he slowly drifted off the sleep.
---
Vahn snapped his eyes open before jumping to his feet and running towards the direction he had just sensed a presence. Similar to when he had saved Naaza, Vahn could feel a sense of helplessness detected by his domain. He entered his Báihǔ form and increased his speed while seeking the source of the negative emotions. Looking at the system clock, Vahn could see it was slightly after 5 AM, and he didn't expect people to be venturing into the floors at this time.
After running for fifteen minutes, Vahn came into a large room where he could see three adventurers fighting against a large purple dragon-like creature. From its basic features, Vahn could tell it was a Wyvern, but unlike the 5m long pink scaled original, it now had a dense assortment of dark purple scales and reached nearly 7m in length. Its eyes were a dull red that seemed to contain flames as it fiercely assaulted the group of three.
The three adventurers were all human and seemed very similar to each other. The man currently fighting the Purple Wyvern looked to be the eldest of the group and was likely related to the two young men in the back. The man had grizzled looks and brave features with a firm and tall build. He fought against the Purple Wyvern with a long spear while trying to draw its attention away from the other two.
In the back, a boy who looked like the youngest of the group was trying to stop the flow of blood of the boy who looked like his elder brother. Their faces were very similar, but the younger boy was several centimeters shorter and more fair-skinned than the one on the ground. Vahn was able to see in the brief period since his arrival that the older boy would most likely die with his current wounds.
It was typically considered bad practice to attack a monster that another group was engaging, but Vahn determined they needed his assistance. As it stood, if he called out to the man who was barely evading the Purple Wyvern, it might end up with him getting caught off guard and killed. For now, Vahn made a circle around and started attacking the Wyvern's eyes with his bow.
The arrow skimmed across the brow of the Purple Wyvern and caused its head to lurch back. It roared in fury, but the middle-aged man used the gap to stab his spear accurately into the neck of the beast. In response, the Purple Wyvern tried to breathe noxious fumes toward the man who had quickly opened his distance. He evaded the attack before shouting out towards Vahn, "Thanks stranger! We get out of this alive, I'll make sure to award you aplenty. If you have any potions, see to my boy and I'll try to keep this damned bastard occupied."
Vahn could see the man was genuinely happy for his help, so he quickly approached the two boys that were likely the man's sons. They were each around 15-16 years old, slightly older than Vahn, and judging by their figure and the fact they were on the 15th floor, Vahn assumed they were both mid-level 2.
The younger boy looked towards Vahn with a frenzied expression as he tried stopping the flow of blood with his bare hands. He was obviously disarrayed by the situation and wasn't properly treating the wound at all. "P-please, please, help him, I can't, I..." The boy was trembling as he held his brother in his arms and appealed to Vahn.
Vahn moved the boy's hands aside as the golden aura on his body quickly faded away. Instead, there was a gentle white light emerging from his palms which he placed on the body of the older brother. Vahn noticed that he was still in his Báihǔ form, but he would explain it after the matter had settled. One of the rumors circulating about him detailed the fact he had a 'beast transformation' magic, so as long as they knew the name 'Vulcan' it would be fine.
The boys wound began to heal at a visible rate as the younger brother started smiling like a fool. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Vahn silenced the boy with a look before handing him a potion that he had kept for emergencies. Since he couldn't use shop items on other people, he had always kept spares in his inventory just in case. He couldn't use [Wound Transfer] for everything or it would draw too much attention if rumor spread. He had been lucky so far to keep it under wraps to all but his close confidants.
After leaving the potion to the stuttering boy, Vahn rejoined the fight against the Purple Wyvern. He had already closed the wounds using his [Hands of Nirvana], so he would survive. The potion would help him recover a bit so the two would be able to escape using their own means. Drawing back his bow, Vahn loosed an arrow and continued to pester the Wyvern.
The Purple Wyvern was incredibly angry at the newcomer's attacks because every time it got hit the man it was fighting would impale it with his spear. The man was a 2nd-class adventurer nearing level 4. He wasn't a match for the Purple Wyvern, but it would take a lot of time before he fell. With Vahn's help, the odds had increased drastically, and he was even able to see both of his sons retreating in the distance.
Seeing that his sons were safe, the man did something no adventurer should do, he dropped his guard slightly due to his relief. The moment wasn't missed by the Purple Wyvern who slammed its tail towards the man. Noticing the incoming attack, the man grit his teeth and tried to receive the massive tail with his spear. The tail continued forward and slammed into the spear, causing the shaft to bend like a bow as it launched the man into the wall. Cracks were emitted from the point of contact as he coughed out a mouthful of blood.
The Purple Wyvern tried to finish the man off, but the moment it lurched forward a powerful force slammed into the crown of its head. Succumbing to the mighty blow, the Wyvern's head was forced down until it had been nailed into the floor by a long black sword. Standing on the Wyvern's lifeless head, Vahn looked towards the man and gave him a smile.
Seeing the now dead Purple Wyvern, the man ignored his wounds and began to laugh. He looked towards Vahn was a thankful expression as he began tending to his wounds. Now that the fight had ended, his sons started making their way over as the boy who saved their lives cut the magic core from the dead monster. The man grimaced slightly after seeing the large core, but he just shook his head as Vahn put it into his satchel.
The two boys wandered over and called out, "Dad!", "Father!" After they got close, the three all embraced each other and Vahn could see tears in their eyes. He saw they had deep affections for each other and Vahn started reminiscing slightly about the people he had left on the surface. Though he was still determined to stay in the dungeon to complete his quest, Vahn began missing them after seeing the current display. After releasing a sigh, Vahn turned away and began advancing further into the dungeon.
The middle-aged man called out to him, "Hey, wait stranger! I need to repay you for saving me and my boys!" The man's sons nodded their heads and agreed with their father. Vahn, turning towards them, displayed the monster core he had obtained. "This is enough for me. Just take better care of your lives in the future...it is sad to see families split apart by tragedy."
After giving his parting words, Vahn continued to walk away from the three dazed gazes. Just as he was going to round a corner, the middle-aged man called out again. "Ah! At least tell us your name! I'll toast to you when we return to the City!" Vahn stopped after hearing the man and thought for a moment.
Turning toward them, Vahn released a confident smile which stunned the three. "I am called Vulcan. Though those in the Hephaestus Familia also call me Vahn Mason." Vahn once again turned away and rounded the corner, disappearing beyond their sights. The man looked towards his sons and, remembering Vahn's words from earlier, decided to cherish his life a little more. He needed to be more careful in the future, or it wasn't just his life that would be affected.
"That boy is so strong...even though he seems even younger than me..." The youngest boy spoke with a sad tone. In the fight earlier he had been useless. Even when his brother got injured trying to protect him, the only thing he could do was watching him slowly bleed out.
The middle-aged man put his hand on his sons head and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, but it isn't age that determines strength. You need to work hard and have a strong heart." After the man spoke, his son nodded which brought a smile to his face. The man could see a conviction in the eyes of the boy and knew he would become much stronger in the future.
---
Vahn was walking through the corridor and inspecting the information in the system. After slaying that Purple Wyvern, Vahn exchanged its core into the system and received a total of 7,180OP. It was an astronomical sum compared to normal monsters. With this, Vahn was able to determine that variants were worth as much as 20x the value of their originals. With luck, he would be able to come across more in the future and rapidly increase the amount of OP he earned.
Continuing for another two hours, Vahn finally arrived at the stairs leading into the 16th floor. He decided to rest again as he hadn't been able to finish his nap from earlier. As he wasn't the main focus of the Purple Wyvern, it wasn't that stressful a fight, but he killed an additional 26 Minotaurs afterward. He had now obtained a total of 213,116OP and officially broke 20% of the requirement of the quest.
Relaxing against the wall, Vahn ate some crepes before checking his stats. This had become his habit ever since entering the dungeon, as it let him keep a proper measure of his growth. Vahn noticed that, with the increase in his parameters, he had also increased the skill [Featherfoot] to rank B. His agility training and evasive fighting style had paid off.
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[[Stats]]
Name: [Vahn Mason]
Age: 14
Race: Human, *sealed*
Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4]
-Level:2(2)
-Power:1001+(C609)->(C690)
-Endurance:1108+(S914)->(S951)
-Dexterity:887+(E470)->(D522)
-Agility:940+(D551)->(B702)
-Magic:1611+(S949)->(SS1008)
Total:5547+(3393)->(3873)
Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul)
[Karma]: 1,219
[OP]: 213,116
[Valis]: 171,630
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[OP]Spent: 99,700/100,000
Satisfied with his improvement, Vahn fell asleep as his domain expanded to cover the entire corridor.
(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Anti-Climactic','Minotaur's Natural Enemy','Vahn, the Bully','There are guys in this world, but they are nameless...for now?','Be careful what you wish for')
創作者的想法 
Einlion
Einlion This will probably be the last chapter for today. I'm a bit burned out from earlier, and I may reduce my releases to 2 per day for the next few days (probably not since I like writing this story).
章節 83: Ain't no Party like a Monster Party~!
(A/N: I wanted to make a fun title instead of the direct ones I usually use.)
Vahn awoke and began his fourth day within the dungeon's depths. He had noticed he required much less sleep after obtaining his upgraded 'eternal flame', so Vahn had only rested for fives hour before he continued into the 16th floor. Much like the 15th, the 16th floor consisted mainly of minotaurs, but they were now roaming in larger groups with other monsters.
After the previous days of constant fighting, Vahn had begun to adapt to his Báihǔ quite a bit. Because of the perception provided by his domain and the increased senses of the form, Vahn had a much easier time navigating around the dungeon at high speeds than most people. While other agility fighters had to rely on their senses and spacial awareness to outmaneuver foes, Vahn essentially had a map within his mind and could 'feel' everything within 70m.
Vahn had even begun to adopt a more feral combat style and had unequipped his boots to get better traction due to the transformed state of his feet. Whenever he was tired or wanted to get a better vantage, he was able to use his claws to stick to walls and jump around while easily evading enemies. At this point, Vahn relied almost entirely on his physical abilities to deal with monsters without the use of any weapons.
The 16th floor seemed to be somewhat larger than the previous floors, and Vahn had already been training/hunting for seven hours before coming to a massive room. Moments after entering, Vahn's instincts started sending danger signals to his brain which put him on high alert. Before taking another step, he immediately vaulted backward toward the wall and leaped off of it after creating a foothold with his claws. Within three seconds, Vahn had scaled the entire wall before coming to a stop on the roof. Vahn embedded his claws deeply into the surface and observed his surroundings.
Several cracks began to emerge all over the massive room and holes opened within the surface. From a strange purple-red void, dozens of Minotaurs began pouring out and began looking around. Vahn recognized this phenomenon from the compendium's danger section. When a group or party had excessively hunted within the dungeon it would cause an event known as a monster party. The 'monster party' could consist of hundreds of monsters and has been known to wipe out entire expeditions if they were unprepared.
Vahn began counting each Minotaur and, by the time they stopped spawning, there were a total of 73 that he could sense within his domain. Luckily the spawn rate was directly tied to the size of a party or Vahn might have had to deal with far greater numbers. As a lone adventurer, what could have been several hundred monsters had been reduced to a relatively small amount.
The Minotaurs continued looking around for their 'prey' which was nowhere in sight. When Vahn had stuck himself to the roof he had also activated his stealth skill, so they were unable to sense his presence at all. Since the roof was nearly 34m high, none of the monsters had thought to look in his direction since exiting the 'portals' from earlier. Vahn watched them idle around as if they were confused, while some even began smashing rocks or places that could have been hiding spots.
Vahn continued to watch them for an entire hour as he began to wonder if they would ever despawn or wander away from the area. He had never seen monsters stay in one spot for so long, so he was curious if there was some mechanism keeping them within the room or making them aware that he hadn't left. Suddenly, Vahn was inspired by an idea that passed through his mind.
Wedging his feet firmly into the roof, he allowed himself to drop upside down and hang from the ceiling. It was a very disorienting feeling to hand upside down and Vahn spent a few seconds trying to adjust his mental state before drawing out his bow. Ever since his encounter with the Juggernaut, Vahn had wanted to get some practice using his [Call of the Reaper] skill and found this to be an excellent opportunity to do so.
Taking aim, Vahn knocked an arrow and loosed it towards one of the Minotaur in the periphery of the group. As it had done so during his encounter with the Juggernaut, the arrow turned completely invisible and if not for his domain, even Vahn wouldn't be able to sense it. The arrow penetrated through the back of the Minotaur's head before it's entire body turned to dust. As Vahn had become extremely accustomed to fighting them, he had long since discovered the location of their core and it's weak spots.
The moment one of their members died, the remaining Minotaurs began to roar and entered a frenzied state. They started smashing the ground and upheaving rocks to find the location of the attacker. In the ensuing chaos, Vahn continued firing arrows towards the isolated Minotaurs in the group. As each arrow did 300% increased damage, Vahn was able to dispatch the majority of his targets cleanly. Most of the Minotaurs were within a 40m range and he had an elevated position, so Vahn was able to easily shoot them through the top of their heads and necks.
After culling more than half of the group, Vahn finally missed his mark and the arrow lodged itself into the shoulder of a Minotaur. The Minotaur looked towards his position before letting out a loud roar with reddened eyes. Vahn felt a sinking feeling in his body like it was quickly losing strength as the entire group of Minotaurs looked toward his position on the ceiling.
Vahn realized his current 'weakness' was the drawback for failing to use the skill, and he grits his teeth while swapping to explosive arrows. The Minotaurs began madly launching rocks toward Vahn as he started raining explosives onto their bodies from above. Vahn almost laughed after seeing the majority of the rocks begin falling after reaching around 25-30m. Even though the Minotaurs had incredible strength, it wasn't to the extent they could throw 100kg rocks the 34m distance to the ceiling.
Instead, the rocks they threw actually become a threat to themselves as they continued trailing arcs through the air and smashing into their own companions on occasion. Unfortunately, for the Minotaurs, they didn't seem to be able to reason in the situation and continued their pointless assault. Vahn continued to fire, albeit at a slower pace because of the volley of rocks intercepting his arrows, picking off each Minotaur one by one.
On occasion, there would be a much smaller rock that would reach his position, but most were severely off target and Vahn was able to intercept the rest using his gauntlets. By the time the stones had reached him, they had lost the majority of their power so he was able to bat them aside without straining himself. There was a point where he nearly dislodged his own footing swatting one aside, but Vahn managed to recover and plant his feet firmly back into the ceiling.
When there were only 10 Minotaur's remaining, Vahn put his bow away and focused on regulating his breathing. There were still around twenty minutes until his stats recovered from the debuff, and though Vahn could easily dispatch the remaining Minotaurs he decided to recover just in case there were any other surprises. According to the compendium, defeating a 'monster party' sometimes resulted in a secondary wave that would have stronger versions of the monsters and even some variants.
Though the current Minotaur couldn't do much to him, Vahn believed the same couldn't be said for higher level versions. If a Level 3 Minotaur or a variant spawned he wouldn't be safe even on the roof. If he had to fight them with halved stats it would be disastrous, so Vahn decided to wait it out.
Noticing their enemy had stopped fighting back, the Minotaurs began shouting and taunting towards Vahn while still throwing rocks. Even though the majority of the group had been annihilated, they seemed to not notice and remained bold in their endeavors. Vahn wasn't sure if they were just stupid by nature or if it was a trait assigned by the dungeon. Though monsters were much faster and stronger in the dungeon than they were above ground, they also had a madness that couldn't be seen in their weaker counterparts. In most situations, this made them even more dangerous, but in unique instances like this, it made them especially easy to deal with.
After the twenty minutes had passed, Vahn felt his strength return and allowed himself to drop from the roof. The Minotaurs saw him fall and immediately began charging towards the location where he would land. Seeing their excited states, Vahn shook his head and twisted his body in mid-air. He knocked an arrow in his bow and fired a cluster of explosives towards his landing site. The arrows contacted and made a powerful shockwave that dispersed a cloud of dust particles in the area.
None of the Minotaurs were injured, as they had yet to reach the location, but they all flinched and covered their faces to protect themselves from the shrapnel and debris. Moments after, spiral holes began appearing from within the cloud as super-sonic arrows exited and lodged themselves into the throats of several Minotaurs. None of the monsters were able to tell what was going on as the dust blocked their vision.
After creating the cloud to obscure their vision, Vahn landed within its vicinity. As he was unaffected by the loss of vision, he closed his eyes and sensed the location of each Minotaur. They were currently stationary while holding defensive postures, so Vahn began firing arrows into the gaps between their forearms to impale their necks. Within twenty seconds of falling, he had eliminated the remainder of the group and recovered their cores.
Vahn continued to wait while staying low to the ground in the debris field caused by the explosion. He used his heightened senses and domain to inspect the area as he waited for any new enemies to appear. After around five minutes, he rose from the ground and dusted off his clothing. Luckily, he only had to face a single wave, likely due to how long it took for him to deal with the first. Though he wanted to fight stronger enemies, it was better to get the jump on them instead of having to react to new situations beyond his control.
After continuing for another twenty minutes, Vahn arrived at the staircase leading towards the 17th floor. He had spent nearly ten hours on the 16th floor and it was currently near 2 PM. Vahn rested against the wall and enjoyed a large lunch to fill his empty stomach. He wanted to make sure to get his fill before heading to the 17th floor since he wanted to clear it with a single push so he could arrive at the safe zone on the 18th. With luck, Vahn would be able to sleep in a bed tonight and enjoy a nice hot bath.
While he was eating, Vahn checked his spoils and was pleased to find he had obtained 21,125OP on the 16th floor. The monster party alone had netted him nearly 10k, and Vahn was considering it if would be a good idea to try and trigger more in the future. He now had 234,241OP and was quickly approaching the quarter mark for his quest. Vahn began humming in satisfaction with a smile on his face. He had nearly increased his OP by 100,000 points within the last four days. At this rate, he would be able to complete the entire quest in about a month, which was much less time than he originally anticipated.
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[[Stats]]
Name: [Vahn Mason]
Age: 14
Race: Human, *sealed*
Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4]
-Level:2(+)(2)
-Power:1001+(C690)->(B714)
-Endurance:1108+(S951)->(S998)
-Dexterity:887+(D522)->(C686)
-Agility:940+(B702)->(B751)
-Magic:1611+(SS1008)->(SS1072)
Total:5547+(3873)->(4221)
Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul)
[Karma]: 1,219
[OP]: 234,241
[Valis]: 171,630
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'That just ain't fair','Death from Above','Does Vahn ever run out of explosive arrows?')
創作者的想法
Einlion
Einlion
As I said yesterday, I may only be releasing two chapters. I might write up to 4, but I'm thinking I may need to start keeping a backlog for bad days. I don't know though since I'm bad at holding onto things. It almost feels like I'm cheating people if I don't publish them immediately xD
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