Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse
Mana.
A precious and limited resource that moves the very order of the world!
Others have a small amount of it while I have an unlimited amount.
Have you seen countless fireballs the size of suns rain down? Have you seen entire stars endlessly conjured and thrown to your enemies?
With Infinite Mana, anything is possible!
Read Infinite Mana In The Apocalypse - Chapter -1 - Ranks/Levels/Realms(Spoilers as of 317) online free - Light Novel Full
Chapter -1 - Ranks/Levels/Realms(Spoilers as of 317)
Ranks FEDCBAS
EPIC RANK
LEGENDARY RANK
MYTHICAL RANK
PHANTASMAL RANK
TRANSCENDENT RANK
SAINT RANK
VOID RANK(A crucial rank that allows one to freely traverse the void of space)
SOUL RANKCelestial Rankings encapsulate multiple ranks as their definition of power is much simpler
Rank 1: Epic(Middle Rank 1) Legendary(Middle Rank 2)
Rank 2: Mythical(Middle Rank 2) and Phantasmal(Peak Rank 2)
Rank 3: Transcendent(Middle) and Saint(Peak)
Rank 4: Void(Middle) and Soul(Peak)
Rank 5: UNKOWNRanks converge as higher levels are reached, with the same names applying for Cultivators. Example: Transcendent RankTranscendent Realm, Saint RankSaint Realm, Void Rank Void Fimerment RealmSoul Forging RealmSkill Levels follow the same ranks, with the addition of specialized skills that grow with the user. In terms of power:
{UNIQUE}
{ULTIMATE}
ABSOLUTE
Skill Trees:
[Lich Lord of Abomination] (15/15): Abilities- Summon Poison Totem(5/5), Summon Undead(5/5), Noxious Outburst(5/5), and Dereliction of the Saintly Poison Lord(5/5) [Abhorred Lich Emperor](30/30) : Additional Abilities- Undead Legion(5/5), Will of the Undead Emperor(5/5), and Delay Death(5/5)
[Amorphous Space Beast] (15/15) : Abilities- Spatial Cage(5/5), Destabilize(5/5), Shattered Star(5/5), and Miniature Space(5/5). [Lesser Cthulhu](30/30) Additional Abilities- Morph(5/5), Child of Space(5/5), Portals of Terror(5/5), and Sever(5/5).
[Blood Lord] (30/30): A technique that only those with the purest forms of blood can use. It is Ancient Blood Magic that includes the abilities Dawn of the Blood Lord(0/5), Blood World(5/5), Drain Life(0/5), and Nightmarish Descent(0/5).
Absolute Skills
Absolute Sin : A skill given to the holder of all the "Seven Deadly Sins" skills. The user is considered to be the Absolute Sin, empowering every sin type skill they hold. It gives access to the skills: [Sin Empowerment, [Harbinger of Sin, [Sin Manipulation, [Sin Syphoning, and [Arch Demon Lord Transformation]
Astral Connector : Your connection to the stars is unique, being able to assert an influence that bends the laws of space to your will. A proficient Connector is able to freely traverse through space, even to locations they have never been to before. Abilities include Marker, Connector, Astral Traveler, Expansive Space, and Star Seeker.
Blood Progenitor Your very core holds a unique relationship to blood, granting you wondrous ways of utilizing it that many can only aspire to. Abilities Include Unique Origin, World Veil, Blood Sea, A Drop of Blood, Telepathy, Vampyrism, and Panacea.
Bloodline(s):
[Vampyre Progenitor](Awakening) : The Bloodline of the Vampyre Progenitor has fused with your origin, slowly continuing to awaken to its full potential as time progresses. Bloodline boosts include: Ancient Being, Vampyre Ruler, Supernatural Beauty, Decelerated Aging, Blood Controller, Bloodline Affinity, Bloodline Bestowal, World Portal, All Element Resistance, Natural Blood Armor, Enhanced Charisma, Unnatural Healing, Unnatural Speed, and Blood Gourmet
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 1 - Awaken
I was looking at a glistening book on the table, a [Skill Book, albeit a very low ranked one at that. [Fireball, an F ranked spell that only the most unfortunate beginners start with.
But this skill book took a majority of my remaining inheritance, and all of my savings. I was known to be a fairly smart guy before everything went to shit, so I planned ahead before spending most of my money
In the worst-case scenario, I still have enough funds to last me at least a few months.
In the best-case scenario, as planned, I would consume this skill book and hope for a semi-decent talent when I awaken.
Getting this skill book was not easy, but it was the only way to awaken if you did not awaken naturally. The rich had no problem awakening themselves, their children, and their children's children
I look at the skill book again before steeling my resolve and picking it up. Bringing it close to my chest, I close my eyes.
A few seconds pass before I see a flash of light, even though my eyes are closed. Opening them, the book in my hands had disappeared, and at the corner of my eyes something else had appeared
[Noah]
[Vitality: 10]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 10]
[Skill(s): Fireball]
Shining with blue light, the words brought confusion more than relief to me. Where the hell were the numbers for focus?
From the released knowledge, ever since the apocalyptic event that killed more than a billion people occurred, a new magical world took its place. People that are termed as Awakened appeared and others could also become awakened through learning [Skill book] that can be dropped from killed monsters
Yes, monsters. Magical beings that most commonly reside in dungeons, and occasionally come out whenever a dungeon break occurs.
Since more than a year has passed, it became common knowledge that those who are awakened are able to use skills, whether inherently gained or from skill books, to perform amazing feats and vanquish monsters
These awakened beings can increase their strength by killing more monsters and absorbing the [Life Cores] they drop, which add to the three attributes: [Vitality[Focus] and [Strength]
Sigh. So why the f.u.c.k is my [Focus] empty?
I try not to become depressed as I feel my body change somewhat after I awakened. I seem to have become slightly stronger, and can instinctively cast the skill I just learned
The problem is, can I even cast skills if I don't have any Focus?
Why the hell is there no number though? My exhilaration of awakening was slowly fading away as I couldn't figure out the numbers, or lack of thereof, on the blue screen in front of me
Looking back, nothing like this seems to come to mind from the news and everything I have been paying close attention to.
Sigh, I'll have to figure it out as I go, [Vitality] and [Strength] are average, and [Focus, what is required to cast skills and increase the damage you do, is black…
Can I even cast [Fireball] if I don't even know how much [Focus] I have? Usually, most average awakanees can cast F tier skills 5 times before they completely deplete the energy in their body. The larger your [Focus, the higher tier the skills you can cast and the more times you can cast them
Since Awakened Mages are extremely powerful, [Focus Cores] are much more in demand than [Vitality Cores] and [Strength Cores]
Awakened Mages can shoot their skills at a long distance and not even give the monsters a chance to retaliate, while Awakened Berserkers and Awakened Knights have to get up close to fight
I was hoping to awaken to become a Mage…
Sigh, without wallowing in melancholic thoughts anymore, I try the last hail mary I can, actually casting the skill I just learned
[Fireball, a common F rank skill that many F ranked Awakened have. I step out of my small apartment and head to an empty barren field behind the apartment complex
Rent had become increasingly more expensive nowadays, as buildings that had high security where you won't suddenly lose your life were high priced. I had to move quite a distance to get to the barren field before I could begin testing my first skill, and possibly my last
Hyping myself up, I raise my hand in front of me and call out, [Fireball]
A small ball of flames came to light in front of me, much to my shock and disbelief
Along with the shock came exhilaration. I can still cast skills even though my [Focus] bar doesn't show anything?!
Putting my shock aside, I command the fireball to move forward before it exploded a few meters from me
Wanting to test to see if I can at least cast the average 5 fireballs that normal F ranked Awakened can cast, I keep ongoing
[Fireball]...[Fireball]...[Fireball]...
Three more fireballs were shot and exploded in front of me, increasing the shock and happiness in my heart. At Least I have average skills, even if it doesn't show on the stat panel!
Weirdly enough, I did not feel any less energy in my body...Well, my [Focus] was blank, to begin with, so I didn't really feel much.
I focus once more as I cast what is probably my last fireball until I rest for a while before I can cast again
[Fireball]
The fifth fireball flew out and exploded just like the ones before
With a smile on my face, I wiped the perspiration on my forehead while feeling relieved. Being average is not bad, at least with this, I can count myself among the top of many people in the world today
I was still confused on the fact that no numbers were showing on my [Focus] though, which meant I couldn't get a gauge on just how much energy I had and how many times I could cast my skill
I hesitantly raised my hand again to see just how many times I could cast [Fireball]
…[Fireball]...[Fireball]...[Fireball]...
The more times I cast the skill and more fireballs flew and exploded in front of me, the more shocked I became
…[Fireball]...
The shock soon turned into incredulousness, as I had counted more than 50 fireballs flying from me and exploding
This…
10 times the normal amount of energy an average F rank has?!
I try to breathe to calm myself down. 10 times. That means my energy nears rank D Awakened. That was extremely rare, as long-distance awakened with skills like fireballs can easily take down an F rank monster, and 3 to 4 fireballs or equivalent skills can take care of E ranked monsters. D ranked Awakened individuals also triumph over D ranked monsters fairly easily with good usage of their skills
Am I actually one of the talented awakanees? I try to push down the pride that began rising before calling out another [Fireball, because I still didn't feel like I was out of energy
This both scared me and made me extremely hopeful in the future. When I kept casting the skill, I didn't really feel any energy leaving, nor did I feel exhausted
When I reached 100 casts, my shock increased.
When it reached 300, my head was pounding from this unknown situation
When it reached 500 casts, My whole body shook. I breathed heavily before looking around me, I was fairly deep into the barren field and had the cover of trees behind me
Glancing around and making sure there was nobody around me, I rushed back to my apartment to try and calm my nearly exploding heart
500 times I had cast an F ranked skill, and I didn't feel any exhaustion, what exactly was going on?
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 2 - Hunter License
As soon as I was back in my apartment, I took deep breaths and analyzed everything that had happened so far.
No numbers were showing for my [Focus, something I have never heard about before. Yet, I could still cast skills that require focus. I did not feel any exhaustion while casting F ranked skill over 500 times.
My goodness. Taking another deep breath, I continued thinking
The most important question now is, Do I just have an abnormal amount of Focus that surpasses most people, or something else? This was the biggest thing on my mind, as even the strongest B ranked Awakened individuals cannot cast skills that many times without exhausting themselves
Alright...with that in mind, I need to test just how many times I can continue to cast skills before I can't anymore. Which also means I need to get my hands on higher-ranked skills that consume more energy
With that in mind, a smile bloomed on my face
Just the fact that I could cast an F ranked skill more than 500 times meant amazing things. As long as I am not braindead, I can easily clear an F and E ranked dungeons, even if I'm alone
D ranked dungeons might be a stretch, as the strength of monsters increase and I would need higher ranked skills besides fireball to take them down
But there's no problem taking things slow. I pull out my phone and look at the remaining balance in my bank account
$5,867
Enough money for rent and food for a few months, and the remainder of my savings. I convinced myself to buy the F ranked skill book, [Fireball, for $20,000. After this, most of my inheritance money was now gone
A year ago, when the apocalypse began, my parents were not so lucky to survive. I was stuck in the bas.e.m.e.nt of my old house asleep and escaped the onslaught of monsters that were taken care of by the government and newly awakened people after a few days
As time passed, more information was released to the public. Monsters had appeared. Most of them congregated in Dungeons. If they were left alone, they would increase and something called dungeon break would occur. This caused monsters to leave the dungeon and indiscriminately attack everything on site
But never fear, Awakened people are here. Able to use powerful skills and great strength to protect everyone else...
And now, I was among those people too
The first order of business? Obtain an Awakened License that will allow me to enter dungeons. Without a license, you cannot bypass the security that allows the Awakened to clear dungeons
You can get a license fairly easily, as you just have to be examined and exhibit skills. I was itching to get started as soon as possible, so I grabbed my backpack and rushed downtown.
With the advent of monsters and heroes, many of the populations were condensed onto a few protected cities. Almost everything was close to each other, so the Awaken Center was not too far away
A few minutes and I was already there. On the way, I saw the usual people with sullen faces and occasional awakened individuals rushing about.
The Awakened Center was vibrating with life, as long lines of people visiting shops could be seen, with even more carefully selling monster [Cores] to the authorities
Many people chose to first consume the [Cores] and get stronger themselves, but many more also sold them to the government and other markets as they went for high prices
[Vitality Core]s and [Strength Core]s went for around a $1000, while [Focus] cores were almost double that price because of their demand
I moved my eyes to another section of the Center, which was dealing in the selling of Skill Books ranging from F to C. Obtaining a C ranked skill book was a dream for many people, as they were extremely rare and went for more than half a million dollars
Looking at the skill books that I greatly desired, I shook my head and moved towards the Registration Hall.
The receptionist was very welcoming, asking for my name, date of birth, address, and bank account information
As soon as she had everything down, I was told to head toward a certain door where my ability would be observed.
There were 3 people standing behind thick glass and an open area with testing dummies. After hearing the directions, I stood a few meters from the dummies and cast [Fireball] consecutively 8 times, making sure to look like I was struggling to get the last few out
"Wow.." (Judge 1)
"A peak F rank huh..." (Judge 2)
Drawing a few surprises from the observers behind the thick glass, everything was completed successfully and I received my license. It was a golden card similar to a credit card with my name, age, and rank. The surprise from the observers was most likely due to the fact that high ranked awakened are extremely rare, with there being only one B ranked awakened in this city that is known publicly
There a few tens of C ranked awakened, a few hundred D ranks, and thousands of E and F ranks. Most of the hunters were F ranked, so being at the peak of this rank at the starting point was a good thing by itself
One can slowly raise their rank by absorbing [Core]s, but unless you were in the army where they were provided for you by the government or in a rich household that could buy them in mass, you would rise very slowly
There were some slight changes to the panel on the corner of my eyes as I walked out of the Awakened Center and received my license.
[Noah] [Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 10]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 10]
[Skill(s): (Fireball-8)]
A new occupation had appeared, marking me as an official awakened Hunter, and...Oh?
I was surprised because I didn't see it before, but the proficiency of the [Fireball] skill had quickly risen to 8. The was an extremely fast process when it took people weeks to raise their proficiency with their skill
I guess it is understandable as I was able to cast the skill more than 500 times, and most people have to use their skills over a period of weeks to reach that number
My next course of action after getting my license was the nearest beginner dungeon in this city, [Ape's Paradise]
Boasting 10 floors, each floor held 10-20 monsters, with the last floor housing a huge black Ape 3 meters in size. This dungeon was regularly cleared by parties of F and E ranked Hunters, who could take on the monsters and the boss without fear of casualties if everyone was doing their jobs
Parties consisting of 2 Knights who put their focus on their [Vitality, 2 berserkers with their focus on [Strength, and 2 mages with their focus on [Focus] were the most common for this dungeon
The Knights act as tanks to ward off coming monsters, Berserkers use their high strength to strike down and protect the mages that are the brunt of the firepower to kill everything on site
Equipment from dungeons was extremely rare, so most people had to make do with newly designed machetes or metal pipes and iron shields as their first equipment. Only the boss of the dungeon had a chance to drop [Skill Book]s and [Items].
Any item dropped from a dungeon was highly sought after, with their prices not being too different from the [Skill Book]s
My goal today was to enter [Ape's Paradise]... and alone at that. My heart was pounding at this crazy idea. When the thought was forming in my head, I had to ask myself multiple times if I had gone insane
But it will not be that dangerous. Seeing how I can cast my Skills so many times without feeling any fatigue, the rank of my [Focus, even though I cant f.u.c.k.i.n.g see it for some reason, should be nearing B if not A
And any rank B hunter can easily clear Rank F and E dungeons, though they don't care to, and put their focus on higher-ranked dungeons
Now, with me being the only F ranked Hunter entering and clearing this dungeon...My heart was pounding from the possible rewards
Usually, rewards are split between the many members of the Party, But I would keep all the [Core]s and possible [Skill Book]s and [Item]s that drop. Just the thought of it made my heart excited
I steeled my resolve and heading towards [Ape's Paradise]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 3 - [Ape's Paradise]
A huge monolith structure was surrounded by high walls. There was security at the entrance and heavily armed soldiers on the walls.
Even though this was only an F ranked dungeon, it made up for millions of dollars of revenue every day with a large number of people entering, clearing the monsters, and selling the resources they receive inside
This monolith had a blue color, indicating it was a normal dungeon with little danger of a dungeon break. If the color changed to orange and then to red, it meant a dungeon break was imminent
Regularly clearing the dungeon kept the color at blue, turning it into a treasure trove with capable people farming it
You always had casualties every now and then from Hunters that were either too full of themselves, bad teammates, or just plain unlucky
Now, I sincerely hope I don't make myself on the category of being too full of myself
Gathering my wits, I show the guards at the metal entrance of the enclosure my hunter ID before heading in. Inside the walls, there were a few hunter teams getting their gear in order or just talking
A few people were standing around looking to either form parties or invite others to their party. At the center of the blue monolith, there was a square, door-like structure. This door like structure was how you entered the dungeon
Those in a group would have to touch the door with a few second differences, but under a minute, to be transferred to the first floor of the dungeon together
There was a party prepared to go into the dungeon in front of me already, so I reigned in my curiosity about the other hunters around me and stood a few feet away from the in-going party
It didn't take long before a few hunters noticed a lone man waiting by himself
"Oy, is that kid thinking of going in alone?" Hunter A
"Bro, another one with a death wish" Hunter B
"Just ignore him, who knows, maybe he's one of those prodigies that can solo an F rank dungeon? Haha" Hunter C
Ignoring the laughs around me, I wait patiently as the entire party in front of me disappeared in a flash, and waited the required minute before going forward and placing my hand on the square door
In an instant, I was transported into a large cavern, where I had just caught the attention of two 1 meter tall black apes
I brought myself to full attention and observed both the apes and my surrounding before I began my first dungeon hunt
[Fireball]
A single fireball, and then a second, and a third, and a forth quickly flew towards the two apes
When the ball of fire exploded on their faces, they were already incapacitated and letting out dying screeches. They would not survive after that, and a second fireball hit them at the same location, quickly finishing them off
I breathed heavily as I felt the adrenaline course through my body. 2 F rank monsters, easily taken care of by me. Haha, this was a feeling I could get used to!
Usually, F rank hunters would use their skills sparingly, making sure to cast them all either on the BOSS or on emergencies. I did not have such reservations
I went towards where the apes fell and grabbed a glistening [Strength Core] that dropped. It was small in size, smaller than a pigeon's egg, and yet they went for a thousand dollars on the market
I placed the [Core] into my backpack and ventured farther in. I didn't have to walk far, as 3 apes were quickly rushing towards me screeching after hearing the death screams of their brethren
With a thought, [Fireball] was cast one after another, each not missing its targets that were rushing forward.
Another [Strength Core] dropped from these three. [Core]s were not guaranteed to drop every time a monster died, and getting 2 from 5 monsters was already fairly average
Placing the newly acquired [Core]s in the bag, I rushed down the path of the Cavern, meeting another set of 5 apes that I quickly burned
I had to force myself to calm down as I so easily and quickly took down the monsters and collected [Core]s. I never imagined myself being able to do something like this and had to pinch myself a few times just to make sure it wasn't a dream
Forcing myself to remain calmer, I cleared the first floor quickly and headed down the winding steps to the 2nd floor.
The apes came in batches of 3-5, and just ran towards me when I neared. I didn't let them get any closer than 4 meters from me, hurling balls of fire towards them as soon as they were in my sight
And just like that, an incredulous sight occurred in the F ranked Dungeon [Ape's Paradise]. Without a moment of rest, an F ranked hunter cleared the 2nd floor, and the 3rd...and the 5th...all the way to the end of the 9th floor with ease
"WAAH!"
I lost control of my emotions as I let out a triumphant shout before the boss room. I had never imagined something like this to be possible!
Without a single issue, I had effectively taken down groups of Apes, collected multiple [Core]s, and reached the BOSS room all by myself
I reeled my emotions in as I let out a confident smile...and went further down to the BOSS room
A huge ape awaits me in the circular cave that is the last room.
"ROAR!!!"
The cave lightly shakes from the scream. My smile does not leave my face as five fireballs fly towards the ape that is now charging towards me. The first hit its chest, stopping it on its tracks. The second and third smash its shoulders, knocking it backward. The fourth and fifth explode on either side of its head, effectively finishing it off.
As soon as the ape crashed down, a blinding light flashed in the last floor and a green crystal rose in the middle. Touching this crystal will allow you to leave the room and appear at a random location near the entrance of the dungeon
I slowly revel in my first ever completed dungeon hunt, a solo one at that.
I then go towards the now dead ape to see any possible drops. By its side, a few F rank [Core]s are present...along with a [Skill Book]
I grab the [Core]s and put them inside the bag, before reaching out for the skill book. [Minor Heal] was now in my hands, giving me quite a shock. It wasn't the rarest of F rank skill books, but it was one of the more expensive ones as it easily took care of any cuts and minor injuries.
I also placed the skill inside the bag and proceeded to sit down and think while staring at the green crystal in front of me. The problem at hand is how I should handle myself from now on
An F rank newly awakened hunter clearing an F ranked Dungeon in under 30 minutes was unbelievable. It would have to be someone who was B ranked or above to be able to carry out the same thing
I made sure not to show too much of what I could do when I took the licensing exam because currently, all I have going for me is the fact that I seem to have a large pool of energy to cast skills. This does not mean I am powerful, nor do I hold the power of someone rank B or higher
Even a rank D or C could easily sneak behind me and take me out as long as they're faster than me. So my plan was to stay low key until I could buy more skills, preferably higher ranking ones that would match my large energy reserves
Sigh, and that required money.
Another plan was forming in my head though. Looking over at the gains just from clearing [Ape's Paradise] once, I had in total 1 F Rank [Skill Book] and 40 [Core]s from the more than 160 apes I had killed from the 9 floors before
This alone made me bolder to make some accelerated plans...
Just from one Dungeon run alone, I can make more than $60,000...In under 30 minutes. This alone gave me a great shock.
Normal parties would have to split the loot, and it would take them more than 2 hours of intensely fighting monsters in close combat, which brought them exhaustion and made many parties recuperate for a few hours after each dungeon run.
Most parties would go into the dungeon once or twice a day. With each person making around $10,000, the life of a hunter can be considered very luxurious
So, assuming the BOSS drops either a skill book or possibly an item, I can make around 60 grand each run...this made many ideas dance around in my head wildly.
I've already spent many months observing hunters and researching every knowledge available to the public about them. I've researched even more into all the known [Skill Book]s and [Item]s that can be dropped from BOSS rooms
For someone with a large energy pool like me, I already had a few books in mind that would work very well. Of course, I also have to keep on testing just how much [Focus] I really have
A wild thought keeps appearing in my head that I do not want to entertain as it is too grand...the possibility that because my [Focus] appears blank, and I can repeatedly continue to cast skills with no feeling of exhaustion...could mean that I can simply keep on casting skills as much as I want...
BOOM
It felt like something had exploded in my head as this idea came and my mind entertained it more and more. My heart was also beating fast that this could even be a possibility
But...why not? From what I've seen so far, there is no value for my [Focus] attribute. Is it more logical to think that it is just a really high number that I somehow cannot see, or that because it is blank and I can still cast skills, I can simply continue to cast skills without any problem of depleting something?
I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before I came to terms with a new plan. It was somewhat risky, but it will be fast and reduce any possible future problems, whether it be from monsters or hunters.
The world after the apocalypse was vastly different, but still the same. Now even more filled with dangers and deaths. A hunter could easily be killed by monsters, robbed by other hunters, or killed by the government if they do not fall inline
To secure my safety while rising up, I will need a highly defensive and offensive skill, and well as a speed supporting skill. Something of C rank or above would be highly effective, and yet the cheapest C rank skills start off at $500,000
So...How do I go about this?
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 4 - Is that a rookie...or?
An idea solidly formed in my head and took root. I knew what I had to do. I didn't wanna cause too huge of a commotion, so even though I will have to go in a roundabout way, I can still keep on diving into dungeons today.
The plan was to head to another dungeon after leaving [Ape's Paradise]. As much as I wanted to enter the dungeon again, I know I would easily be recognized the moment I head towards the entrance again.
I won't repeatedly dive into dungeons with such a fast clear speed until I have some measure of confidence to be able to protect myself from most threats. The goal for now is...power close to or equivalent to Rank B.
There was a single B Rank Hunter in this city, and he was a known celebrity. The strength he showed made many people fearful, as even bullets and snipers were ineffective against someone of rank B
The city I'm in though, Outer Bank X , was only a small-sized city with a few dungeons, the highest rank being C. Other cities that are further inland have way more powerful hunters with even greater level dungeons
My next stop will be at the rank E dungeon, [Frozen Wasteland, which many hunters did not frequent. With the extremely cold characteristics, this dungeon held 20 floors, with various beasts of cold attributes appearing. It should be even easier to clear with my constant casting of [Fireball]
Before I head to the [Frozen Wasteland] though, I do want to continue testing just how many more times I can cast my sole skill at the moment, [Fireball]. From the previous 500 times, I've cast it 200 times while clearing this dungeon
Wrapping my thoughts up, I moved a distance away from the green crystal and began my experimentation of whether I could endlessly cast skills or If I just had an abnormal amount of [Focus] that I could not see
Thus, a weird scene unfolded on the last floor of [Ape's Paradise, with a man all by himself continuously casting fireballs. They exploded a few meters from him, and more followed right after
20 minutes passed.
I was still casting [Fireball] without stopping, causing my wildly beating heart to be leaning towards that insane idea. Approximately over a thousand casts in the last 20 minutes..let's continue some more
40 minutes later, I had gone past the excitement, ran over fear, got over the whole ridiculous idea...and taken it as a fact. This was something out of my wildest dreams, and I did not even understand how it could be possible
In the last hour, I had cast an F rank skill, [Fireball, over 3000 times...not even someone of Rank A, or the highest known ranking Hunter, Steel Mikhail, would be able to do something like this. This both scared me and gave me a wild hope to someday stand up not far from them
Over the span of the time, the balls of fire that came out gradually became more condensed, and their explosions more pronounced as well as traveling much faster. In the last 10 minutes, instead of usually casting 1 fireball every second, 2 rushed out per second
They were apparently becoming smaller, faster, and more explosive as I continued to cast them. This should be my proficiency rising at a stupid crazy rate because of how many times I am casting the skill. My current panel looked like this
[Noah[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 10]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 10]
[Skill(s): (Fireball-59)]
The proficiency for the skill [Fireball] had amazingly risen all the way to 59, a crazy figure to wrap my head around. As far as I knew, there were very few people who had their proficiency higher than 30, as Hunters continuously improved themselves and got higher ranking skills with the passing of time
An F Rank Hunter using [Fireball] as their first skill would move on to using an E ranking skill as soon as they gained the funds to buy one. No one spent that much time using one of the lowest ranking skills for an extended period of time
Looking at the high proficiency, it made me excited about what would happen if I continue to cast and raise it even more. The power of the [Fireball] skill should currently surpass any other skills of the next rank in the damage and speed that it flies at, it's most likely nearing rank D in its offensive ability
I was itching to continue my test of endless casting but brought myself to stop and move on to the plans on my agenda.
I moved towards the still glowing green crystal in the middle of the room and placed my hand on it, which instantly teleported me outside the monolith. I appeared not too far from the entrance, with a few people glancing my way with surprised expressions
"Did his entire team wipe, or do we have a ranker here?" Hunter F
"Hah! A Ranker? Have you ever seen them dressed like that with a flimsy backpack on them? My apologies kid, I hope they weren't your closest friends!" Hunter G
A few people noticed the abnormalities as someone finished the dungeon and was transported out alone. My current attire really did not match anyone of Rank C or higher, as many people quickly noticed
Most of the people that were there an hour and a half ago when I went in the dungeon were either gone or not paying attention, as the surrounding compound of the dungeon was a fairly large space
I ignored the pitying gazes of Hunters who thought the rest of my team was gone and headed towards the gate. Funny enough, I was becoming more and more used of ignoring other people's gazes as this day went on
Outside the gate, there were a few stalls and people rushing about. I went towards another section where there were a few cars lined up and planned to use the Hunter Ride system
There were many people making their living driving hunters from dungeons to the Awakened Center or to their lodging. It was a very dangerous job as you can always have an unstable customer, but this time they're superpowered people who could either blow you up or snap your neck with a twist of their hands
One man quickly came up to me with a smiling expression and asked if I needed a ride. I nodded and quickly got on the parked Dodge Charger in front of me, our destination, the [Frozen Wasteland]
In the 25 minute trip towards the next dungeon, I kept on thinking of any things that I missed and went over my plans for the next few days.
Time quickly passed and we neared another huge monolith, this one with a slight tinge of orange. Many hunters did not like clearing this dungeon because of the extreme cold, resulting in mandatory clean up by the government routinely
I would take my time in this dungeon though, as there were significantly fewer hunters, and even a single run would probably net me more than double the money I made in [Ape's Paradise]
I paid the high fare and got out of the car, flashing my hunter license to the guards at the door, who didn't bother with me after giving me a second look and shaking their heads
Hey, I promise you I'm not just a hunter on a suicide mission alright?
I look around the enclosure of this dungeon and head towards the entrance. There wasn't even a team on standby to be entering. With a few hunters cl.u.s.tered on some stalls and shops selling food and equipment
Nothing held me back as I quickly went to the entrance and placed my hand on one of the square doors, which quickly transported me to the first floor of the rank E dungeon, [Frozen Wasteland]
I was quickly besieged by the cold that drove many hunters away, and quickly cast 2 fireballs that did not fly away from me this time but circled around me. Doing this usually required Hunters to continuously provide more energy, but nothing like that could be felt from me
As soon as I commanded the fireballs to circle a few feet away from me, the cold was majorly offset and nowhere near where it was before
There wasn't a pause to be given though, as I soon heard the growling of animals that quickly showed themselves. Clear white wolves were rushing towards me, their glistening white teeth flashing menacingly in the white wasteland
There wasn't a single hint of fear in me though, as I moved forward confidently. Condensed [Fireball]s were quickly rushing from me at high speeds, exploding on the wolves' bodies and blowing masses of meat away
The group was quickly taken care of in the first volley of fireballs, and all that was left for me was to pick up the [Core] that dropped
I looked forward to the misty cold path in front of me as I rushed down this 20 Floor dungeon that would be the beginning of my journey.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 5 - How many fireballs to take down a huge polar bear?
In the first 5 floors of the [Frozen Wasteland, packs of white wolves appeared. With the fast velocity of the ever so damaging fireballs, they were mowed down quickly.
Aside from casting the skill towards the enemies that appeared, I had a few of them rotating around me, and randomly cast the skill even more as I moved forward, even if there were no enemies near me. I wanted to increase the proficiency of [Fireball] as fast as possible
I could only imagine what these monsters felt, as they would hear sounds of an explosion that quickly pulled them toward me before they met a grisly fate. Killing all of these monsters did not have that much of an effect on me. I was looking at them like the mere monsters that they were, they would not hesitate a second to rip my head off if I gave them the chance. Not to mention the hatred that everyone has against monsters for all the massacres on the early stage of the apocalypse...
The first 5 floors were quickly cleared, and from the 6th floor, monsters with a similar shape to foxes began appearing. These ones much bigger than the wolves before them. Their size surprisingly did not make them any slower and they were rushing towards me while ferociously growling
The further condensed [Fireballs] were shooting out from me without stopping. I was doing my best to adjust to the ever so increasing speed while aiming for their heads and limbs.
As soon as there was an impact, an explosion followed and chunks of meat flew. The arctic foxes were then taken down just as easily as the wolves. This continued until the 15th floor, where huge Musk Ox began appearing. They looked like huge bisons, but with a lot more fur
I stopped aiming at their limbs, as it seemed their thick coating provided some protection for them and focused on throwing the fireballs only at their heads. At the speed they were rushing towards me, I actually had to move back to avoid being rammed into whenever I ran into a group of 4 or 5 Musk Ox
They required more fireballs to be taken down, and if there were many of them then at least one would be able to get within a few meters. This pushed down my ever so increasing confidence a bit, making me slow down and stop my incessant casting that caused explosive sounds that alerted the monsters when I neared
As soon as I met another group, I cast as many [Fireball]s as I could and kept them around me without losing my focus, before bombarding the group when I neared. Just like that, I smoothly cleared all the way until the 20th floor, which held crystal glass stairs heading downwards.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself, casting the maximum fireballs I could keep circling me before I lost control and they exploded, which was about 10. Any more than that and I would lose concentration of a few that would fly away and explode
I went down the stairs and was met with a wide cave that had cold winds rushing about. At the center was a huge slumbering mass of a beast. As soon as I stepped in, two bright shining eyes opened, giving me a shock
This was the first-ever monster that actually made me feel somewhat suffocated, mostly due to its size. I didn't waste any more time before commanding the fireballs around me to rush towards the huge beast, which was now standing on its hind-legs? Damn
All 10 fireballs rushed towards it, with a few more appearing around me a few seconds after. The beast that seemed like a huge polar bear crossed its thick arms around its face as the fireballs came and a huge explosion occurred
BOOM!
Dust filled the room, but I didn't even bother waiting and checking if it was still alive or not before I threw the next 10 fireballs in the same direction
WOOSH
I let out a scream as I quickly moved back, the bear was not dead and had rushed a few meters closed to me, its arms mangled and burnt, but its huge jaws with pristine white teeth wide open. The last 10 fireballs I had haphazardly thrown out saved my life, as they quickly exploded on the opened jaws of the bear and blasted its head off
Damn. Damn. DAMN!
I was breathing heavily while calming myself down. That was close. If I had waited a single second...
If I was just a tad bit more overconfident I would have had my head chewed right off. Dammit. Throwing those last fireballs without checking for anything just saved my life. I stumbled down and reeled my emotions in as the dust cleared and the room returned to serenity
I closed my eyes as the events in the last few minutes played in my head. I was rushing things. I only had one F rank skill, and I alone attacked an E ranked dungeon. Stupid. It doesn't matter that I can cast it repeatedly if it cannot quickly take down huge bosses like this. Even with the increased proficiency of [Fireball, it wasn't enough for me to comfortably take down a rank E BOSS
I also did not absorb any of the [Core]s I had collected so far because I planned on selling all of them to quickly buy a higher tier skill book. Also stupid. If I absorbed some [Strength Core]s, my muscles would be reinforced and I would be stronger and quicker. If I absorbed more [Vitality Core]s, my defenses and health would be further increased so that a single attack won't kill me
I took a deep breath as these ideas flowed in. Okay. No need to rush. Plan ahead carefully first.
My original plan was to dive into these dungeons repeatedly today until I gained enough money to purchase a C rank skill, but that might not be the smartest of ideas. I would need to repeat [Frozen Wasteland] at least 3 or 4 times alone if I wanted to collect funds nearing half a million
[Ape's Paradise] alone had given me materials worth around $60,000, and I had gained close to a double that amount in here, with 100 [Core]s in the last 20 floors of this dungeon. A new plan quickly formed and I stood up to check what the BOSS had dropped
1 [Skill Book] and a few rank E [Core]s that were slightly bigger than a pigeons egg. The skill book I picked up was called [Arctic Armor]. Happiness quickly came to my face as this was one of the categories of skills I was planning to buy. Skills like these greatly complement the current me, as some armor skills are timed, and some stay as long as you provide the energy
Tanks usually cast this skill when fighting against BOSSes, granting them another layer of increased protection. If the tank doesn't have a high enough [Focus] though, he might run out of energy for the armor and quickly be taken out, so his team members had to act fast to kill the BOSS
[Arctic Armor] would stay active as long as you provided the energy for the skill. I wasted no time learning it and quickly activating it. A thin crystal layer of ice quickly formed all over my body, giving me a cooling feeling. Almost all of the cold winds that were rushing about in the cave seemed like a breeze to me
Wow. I was already in love with this new skill. As usual, I didn't feel like I was using any energy or depleting anything from my body as the skill was actively on. A confident smile quickly came back to my face as I collected the rest of the [Core]s and placed in my now heavy backpack
I turned to the green crystal that rose after the huge bear's death, deactivated [Arctic Armor, and touched the crystal.
It was already night outside, the cold air emanating from the [Frozen Wasteland] monolith increasing some more. I passed by the few people that were there and went towards the roads where many cars were parked. Someone quickly approached me and I got in the car, my destination now being the popular Hunter Lodging at the center of Outer Bank X city
Many hunters did not have a permanent resident they stayed at as they moved around a lot, so luxurious hotel businesses were started that were specifically for hunters. Most paid to stay there by the day, as the cost was nowhere near what most hunters made from killing monsters day in and day out
Almost getting my head bitten off woke me up somewhat, even though I thought I was thinking very clearly when I was planning everything. I was calling it a day for now. I'll sort through the [Core]s that dropped and see how much money I can make by selling them, and how many I should absorb myself
We quickly arrived at the hunter lodging called Pristine Residency. I paid the fare and went towards the entrance of the hotel. I would go back to my little apartment some other day to grab my valuables, now I just needed some rest
The Pristine Residency had a luxurious look with shining lights all around it. Being a hunter lodging, there were many services for hunters that were offered. Beside the extravagant dining with specially cooked monster meat, small shops that sold and bought [Skill Book]s, [Item]s, and [Core]s were also here, although they wouldn't be anywhere near as extensive as the shops in the Awakened Centers
Selling your items at Awakened Centers would usually get you more profit and you would be able to find rarer skills there. Places like the Pristine Residency were more of a business while Awakened Centers were under the government's wing. And the government never stopped buying all the items dropping from monsters in bulk
I went to the reception area where a crazily dolled up woman was flashing the sweetest smile and presented my hunter license. The smile never left her face as she quickly processed a room for me and gave me the key-card. I didn't bother checking any of the shops in the huge building and went straight to the room which was on the 10 floor. All I wanted to do right now was lie down on a soft bed
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 6 - Choosing new skills
The room of the Pristine Residency was fairly huge. Hunters preferred resting in these specially made lodgings because of the safety that was guaranteed. Nobody wanted to be the rich and renowned hunter that was killed in their sleep.
There was a platter of fresh fruits on the side and a thick bed in the middle of the room. I sat down on the bed and emptied the [Core]s in my backpack to get a grasp of just how much funds I could get tomorrow. There were 38 [Focus, 54 [Strength, and 48 [Vitality] cores, mixtures of F E rank. This many cores were only possible if you were a very high ranker soloing lower dungeons or from partying with others of the same caliber to attack high ranking dungeons
Just the cores alone would probably net me a grand total of $180,000 were I to sell all of them. I wouldn't be able to even come close to purchasing a Rank C skill, But I could probably get 1 Rank D skill or 2 Rank E skills
If I choose to sell the [Minor Heal] I got from the BOSS of [Ape's Paradise, that's another $20-30 k. But I was keener on learning that skill myself after the fight with that bear
I was absent-minded as I looked at the [Core]s in front of me. Doing something like this was always a wish of mine, but never in my wildest dreams had I thought it would ever become a reality
My mind quickly went back to the period of confusion, when monsters were first introduced to the world. The last thing I remember saying to my parents was "You guys have fun!"
They were going to their anniversary date, finally some time away from their son who hadn't yet left the house. Those were the last words.
Tears unconsciously fell from my eyes as my mind went back to that time. I remember the rage I felt. The powerlessness as I hid in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Away from the screams and growls that were clearly heard as if they were next to me.
All I did was clutch my phone and watch the news updates as it went from monsters had appeared, to advice for the people to hide in their homes, to super-powered humans and the military stepping in.
I hid in that bas.e.m.e.nt for 2 straight days before I even had the courage to go upstairs and eat something. The weeks that followed were just confirmation of many people that did not have their loved ones return to them. I was scared and ashamed at that time. My parents, who had done everything for me, were massacred by monsters while I cowered in fear
Time after that seemed to pass by in a blur. With the money my parents left behind, I was able to live off of it comfortably. It took months before I began to direct the rage and helplessness towards the things that did this, but I still wasn't able to do anything about it
The months after that I spent learning every little thing I could about monsters, dungeons, awakened hunters, and the reality of our new world. Only today did I learn a skill book and awaken myself
I wiped the tears off my face as a resolute expression came back. I couldn't do anything then, but I can change what I do now.
I set aside some F rank [Vitality] and [Strength] cores for me to absorb and grabbed the phone near the bed to order room service. I then learned the [Minor Heal] skill and tried the skill for the first time
A green light washed over my body, reducing some of the fatigue I felt. I also made [Arctic Armor] to be active at the same time, as its proficiency would increase the longer it was used, and its defensive properties would further increase. I then began absorbing some of the [Core]s I set aside
My food arrived not too long after, two plates of prime ribs with some water. I paused everything when I grabbed the food from the door and ate the steaks waiting for me. I turned on the T.V while eating to check if there was anything newsworthy that happened today. There was a bearded anchor in a suit talking to a celebrity hunter
"Mr. Doyle, you've just come back overseas from doing hero work over in Country Z of the United Federation, just how differently do the hunters live there compared to our great Blessed Empire?" News Anchor
"Haha, the work was fun, but it was definitely a new environment. Things are done very differently there. Dungeon diving is very strictly regulated, with Hunters having to mandatorily hand over more than half of their earnings over to the government. It was truly eye-opening to see." Celebrity Hunter
"My goodness! How can hunters live under such oppression? I would rebel! It is nothing like our great Empire, where Hunters are given the freedom to grow and prosper. It's why we have such amazing heroes rising up over the years. God bless this great nation of ours!" News Anchor
"Well..." Celebrity Hunter
I quickly turned the T.V back off while shaking my head. Nothing noteworthy seems to be going on, just the usual propaganda being hurled at the common news watcher. The Blessed Empire...are we truly blessed? Compared to the United Federation, hunters here have a much higher death rate. The occasional dungeon breaks also cause mass casualties as response times were usually slow. Though I'm definitely lucky to be where I am, over the years I've to be skeptical of many of the things I hear.
Hunters from the United Federation lead vastly different lives, but from what I've seen in online forums they're happy with the way things work. Of course, there are still many issues, but nowhere near as horrid as all our news networks make it out to be. Even the good things you see online could also be a false depiction though. So I guess I'd have to visit there myself to see how things are in the future
As soon as I finished eating my food and absorbing about 40 [Vitality] and [Strength] cores, I went towards the bed to get some rest. Before sleeping, I made sure to activate [Arctic Armor]
[Noah[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 30]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 30]
[Skill(s): (Fireball-81)(Heal-1)(Arctic Armor- 5)]Morning came. It was around 6 am when I woke up. The bed had an outline of frost from where I was sleeping. I checked my panel to see that [Arctic Armor] had its proficiency rise to 61. It became slightly thicker and now looked like there was almost an armor of ice all over my body. I felt extremely comfortable sleeping with the skill activated, my body feeling a cooling sensation throughout
I grabbed a quick shower and cleaned up, and then went to grab some breakfast in the dining area. After finishing the food, I checked around the hunter shops in the hotel just to see if the skills I had in mind would be there, but I wasn't so lucky. There were a variety of Rank C-F skills, but none that fully fit the guidelines I had in mind
I went out and hailed another driver to bring me to the largest Awakened Center in Outer Bank X. This center was as large as a stadium, with many hunters and normal humans rushing about. It was already packed early morning, with many things being sold or traded. I first went to trade in the [Core]s I did not absorb in one of the shops, and my account soon had an extra $155,000. Even after I absorbed more than 40 [Core]s, the remaining was still enough to bring me this much from just diving into 2 dungeons. This money brought a smile to my face, even though I knew it would soon be gone
Ignoring everything else, I went to the shop that had a huge sign of [Skill Books]
There were hundreds of skill books laid behind thick glass with their descriptions written out. On either side of the entrance were two hunters who seemed to be Rank D or above
I went into the shop and sure enough, there were a few books that fit my criteria. The first skill that fit exactly what I wanted was the rank D skill, [Flames of Torment]. The skill allowed you to cast a pillar of flames at a maximum distance of 10 meters and would last as long as energy is applied. The skill neared rank C in power but was neglected by many hunters because of its high energy usage characteristic. It fit perfectly with me. With its high damage, the pillar of flames would continue to be concentrated into a line of fire that burns anything in front of me
The next skill that matched what I was looking for and I actually had enough money to buy was another Rank D skill called [Safeguard]. This was a very peculiar skill that caused headaches for many tanks. Casting this skill greatly boosted your defense, and even fully absorbed all damage from lower-ranking skills. The only downside was its high energy requirement and the fact that you could not move while this skill was active
BOSSES regularly move and attack anything that damages them, if they see their attacks aren't getting through a tank that is standing still, they will simply move to attack other party members that are causing it harm. Tanks who first used this skill caused the death of many spell casters, as they were too late catching up to the monster after being able to move again. You also never want to be a mage with your flimsy defense to cast this skill and standstill, as soon as your mana runs out you will be surrounded and...
Because of all this, a D rank skill book that normally goes for around $100 k, I was able to buy for $60 k. With the [Flames of Torment] being $90 k, I had effectively used almost all the money I made the day prior.
Now, it was time to go back to the [Frozen Wasteland]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 7 - Too easy
I called for a ride as soon as I was done and I was driven to the [Frozen Wasteland] dungeon in 20 minutes. I still had that same backpack with me as it should be more than enough to carry [Core]s that drop even if I dive multiple times
I placed my hand on one of the squares of the monolith, and I was back onto the cold floor with rushing wolves once more. Rank E dungeon, 20 floors, just how fast would it take for me to clear you now that I have Rank D skills?
I quickly activated [Arctic Armor] and [Safeguard, as I wanted to ascertain just how useful the skills were going to be. I immediately felt like my entire body was rooted to the ground as I couldn't move a single muscle
A transparent layer of energy quickly formed on top of the [Arctic Armor, and the rushing wolves arrived. The nearest one took a swipe with its huge claws, but I didn't even feel an impact as the wolf was bounced back
The rank D [Safeguard] provided almost absolute defense against lower-ranking monsters and skills, this held true. With both defense skills on, I watched as the wolves rushed at me and tried clawing, biting, and anything else they could think of, but they didn't even touch my clothes
With my confidence slowly coming back, I then cast a skill I was very much looking forward to, [Flames of Torment]
A blinding ray of flames quickly sprouted in front of me, piercing two of the wolves that were standing opposite me. The flames literally incinerated the area where they touched the monsters, leaving holes in their bodies
The 2 remaining wolves beside me let out frightened yelps, but I didn't give them any time and had two condensed fireballs quickly explode on their heads. I deactivated [Flames of Torment] [Safeguard] and could move again, and I went to check out the wolves pierced by the pillar of flames upfront
A burnt smell was in the air, as the wolves had almost half of their bodies burnt away. The blood remaining on the other half of their bodies was even bubbling and sizzling
Damn. I kept my amazement inside as I rushed forward, wanting to see more of just how this deadly new skill was. I only kept [Arctic Armor] active and continued indiscriminately throwing fireballs in front of me so that I could increase its proficiency
Now that I was becoming more familiar with skills, it seems that the closer the proficiency nears 100, the closer the skill becomes able to deal just as much damage as a skill of the next rank. As the F rank [Fireball] neared 100 in proficiency, its speed and damage was almost the same as an E rank offensive skill
I didn't want to completely abandon [Fireball] now that I had the rank D skill, [Flames of Torment, as it was still very effective when used well.
On the next floor, as soon as the wolves began appearing I initiated [Flames of Torment]. I made the pillar of fire move horizontally instead of just shooting straight, causing it to literally melt the beasts in half. All 5 rushing wolves. Dead from one attack. Haha! I was already falling in love with this skill!
Feeling the rush of easily overpowering these monsters, I rushed down the floors even faster. No matter if it was the wolves, the foxes, or the Musk Ox, [Flames of Torment] did not discriminate and easily burned holes through the beasts with its extremely high heat
The feeling of adrenaline slowly faded as I stood by the stairs to the BOSS once more. I was decent enough to leave in one piece yesterday, but I was gonna be sure to take it out even more thoroughly today
I went down the stairs and watched the slumbering mass of a beast get up once more, Its bright red eyes trying to pierce through me.
Without wasting a beat, a pillar of flames sprouted in front of me like a blooming red flower. The rising bear raised its huge paws to protect its body once more, but this time there was no rest from the flames
GRAAAA!!!
A mournful howl was released as the beast's limbs did not last even a second, blasting them apart in an explosion of flesh and bones, continuing onto the body of the bear!
A sizzling hole was quickly apparent at the center of the beast's chest, stopping its howls short, and causing it to plummet back down to the cold hard ground
BOOM!
Controlling my breath, I looked down at the huge mass that was now burning in front of me. Something that gave me fear the day before, did not even manage to come a few meters near me now
I closed my eyes as I relished this feeling, and then went forward to grab the [Core]s and...oh?
It wasn't a skill book this time around, but...an [Item]. I was quickly able to identify the equipment beside the huge bear, [Swift Boots: Increase the speed of the wearer]. The item brought a smile to my face, as they rarely dropped and could fetch a high price. The best thing about items is that you can use, reuse, and then sell them without them ever losing their value
I put the boots on, feeling my body get noticeably lighter. I dashed around and confirmed that I could more easily move around.
Swiftly clearing the Rank E dungeon [Frozen Wasteland, a sense of accomplishment rose as I went towards the green crystal. Before going out though, I took out a few of the [Vitality] and [Strength] cores that I had collected in this run and began absorbing them
Rank F [Core]s allowed a hunter to be strengthened up to 50 attribute points, Rank E [Core]s up to 100, Rank D up to 150, and on and on. The hunters standing atop the world currently had their attribute points nearing 300. It didn't matter how many F ranked [Core]s you consumed, if you wanted to go past 50 on your attribute, you had to absorb rank E cores, with the process repeating for higher ranks. Absorbing rank E [Core]s while my stats were still under 50 only made them rise a bit faster
I stopped absorbing once [Vitality] and [Strength] both reached 50, and as usual, [Focus] was blank so all those cores were saved up in the bag. I wrapped everything up and approached the crystal to leave the dungeon.
As I touched the crystal and I was transported outside the monolith, I debated whether I should repeat this dungeon, or go towards one of the few Rank D dungeons in Outer Bank X
I currently held 2 rank D skills, one of which was shredding the monsters in this Rank E dungeon as if they were paper, the other, once activated anyways, would make me almost impermeable to any damage below Rank D, and provide huge defense when facing monsters of equivalent rank
For time efficiency, it makes a lot more sense to head to a higher-ranked dungeon, which will mean more floors, more monsters, and better drops. This time around though, I couldn't be reckless.
Since I was already at [Frozen Wasteland] though, and it took me less than 20 minutes to clear everything, it shouldn't be an issue to repeat this dungeon once or twice. There will be no surprises and my safety is guaranteed...as well as the fact that there are so few people here
I made up my mind and approached one of the squares of the monolith again, placing my hand and disappearing right after.
The 2nd run of [Frozen Wasteland] today brought me more [Core]s, with the addition of [Blade Strike: With a swing of your sword, unleash a deadly strike upon your enemies]. This skill wasn't that useful for me, so I threw in the backpack and went in again for the third time today
The 3rd run of [Frozen Wasteland] gave me a similar amount of [Core]s, this time with a fairly rare skill, [Summon Golem: Summons a single partner to fight on your behalf]. Many hunters would buy this skill as soon as it hits the shelf, as it allows casters to effectively have another tank, or the Knights and Berserkers to have a partner to take the damage for a few seconds. It doesn't really go with my style though, as it will be a slow-moving golem, and I rush through these monsters fairly fast. All that it meant for me was being able to receive more money for a skill
Fourth run, only [Core]s, not a single skill book or item. This run bummed me out.
Fifth run, more cores, and 1 item: [Kenshin's Sword]. As simple as that, it was a sword. I wasn't planning on getting near any monsters, so this would be getting sold too. My backpack was nearly overflowing though, so I will be heading to an Awakened Center to sell the things I've collected so far. I was looking forward to this, as my profits now would easily pass half a million, meaning I can finally grab myself a Rank C skill...
[Noah[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 50]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 50]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-96)(F-Heal-10)(E-Arctic Armor- 79)(D-Flames of Torment-31)(D-Safeguard-8)]
[Equipment: (E-Swift Boots)]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 8 - Offense is the best defense?
In an unknown mansion somewhere in Outer Bank X...
"Sir, we noticed an abnormality in one of the dungeons today." (Butler)
"Oh? And what happened?"
The butler observed the disinterested look on the man in front of him and continued. "The E rank dungeon, [Frozen Wasteland, has suddenly gone from a risky assessment of moderate to low"
"Oh, so someone is doing my job for me while I'm busy with the C rank dungeon?"
"Yes sir...but the problem is, this change occurred in the span of 2 hours"
As soon as the butler finished these words, the eyes of the man he was talking to flashed. "Who was it? A team or a Ranker that just appeared?"
"We don't know Sir, we're currently checking." Butler
"Good, let me know as soon as you find out. Are the girls ready?" The man's attention quickly moved to the floor above him where he could feel some movements.
"Yes Sir"
"All newly awakened?"
"Yes Sir..."
"Good, don't bother me for the next hour."
The butler in a clad black suit watched as the man climbed the stairs. His major worry right now was the fact that a dungeon had moved from a moderate risk level to low in a period of two hours. This required a dungeon to be cleared by a team of highly skilled hunters, or one very skilled Ranker, multiple times in those 2 hours
There was currently only one hunter in Outer Bank X who would be able to bring a specialized team to clear a dungeon at such high speeds, and he was looking at him now heading to perform some...activities
The butler bowed towards his benefactor and then turned around to find out just which new hunters had appeared in their city.I was back in the central Awakened Center of Outer Bank X, currently selling the items I didn't need along with the [Core]s I didn't absorb. Before coming down here I made sure to absorb the E rank cores until I hit 70 attribute points for [Vitality] and [Strength]. I slowly adapted to the newfound power my body felt as I moved around, exhilarated at my fast progress
The remaining cores, items, and skill books were all sold and I soon had an extra $674,000 deposited in my account. This was something unbelievable unless you were a high ranking Hunter
The receptionist handling my order was shocked as the number of things I was bringing in did not match the rank on my license in any way. I had the plan to be tested and increase my rank today anyways. A jump from F to D wouldn't be too out of this world, right?
This was something I was hesitating on as it had only been 2 days since I was registered as an F rank hunter. Heads will definitely be turned my way if I jump ranks this quickly. I still didn't feel comfortable enough to parade myself as someone strong when my highest skills currently were rank D and I was just about get a rank C skill. Increasing my rank can wait for now, there's no rush
I was heading towards the [Skill Book] Shop to buy a skill I had already seen yesterday, but I couldn't buy. Rank C skill, [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection: Arcane energies protect the caster from all harm, but at a great cost]
There were very few rank C skills for sale, as the highest C rank dungeon was regularly being cleared by the only B rank hunter in Outer Bank X with his own team. Over the last few months, many of the C rank skills came from them
[Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] provided absolute defense to any attacks of the same rank thrown your way along with a high defense against skills of a higher rank, did not have any movement effect like [Safeguard, but required a large amount of energy to be kept active
My heart was about to leap out of my chest as I bought this killer skill. I've heard the proverb that offense is the best defense, but right now looking at this skill, defense was definitely the best defense. There were other spectacular C rank offensive skills on display that I wanted to buy, but they would have to wait after I dive into dungeons a few more times and raise my funds once more
The offensive skills would definitely decimate everything on sight if I were to spam them, but they won't guarantee my life. So defense first, offense later.
On Top of the defensive rank C skill, I also bought rank D [Danger Sense, which quite literally let you sense anything that might take your life a few seconds before it happened. It was an invaluable skill that also had high energy usage to be kept active all the time.
[Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] cost me $550,000, with [Danger Sense] taking away another $100 k. I gave a look at the rank C offensive skills that I couldn't yet buy and left the Awakened Center to head towards my apartment this time. I was planning on spending the night there and grab my laptop along with other essentials
After giving directions to the driver, I relaxed in the back of the car and learned [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] and [Danger Sense]. I immediately activated [Danger Sense, but nothing felt any different. I'm assuming I would feel something if my life was ever in danger
We arrived at the dilapidated apartment complex in half an hour. I gave the place a glance before heading towards the room I've been living in for the past months
Opening the door, I was shocked to find out there was someone in my apartment. The moment that person turned, A loud ringing sound went off in my head. This...was dangerous
The man was decked in clothes that let off a blue light, which means they were all [Item]s. He spoke as soon as his eyes landed on my face
"Noah Osmont. Parents deceased, living alone, has been a registered hunter for about 2 days" The man was flipping through some papers while speaking. I had recognized his face, he was a celebrity in Outer Bank X
My face quickly became stern and I activated [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection]
He looked up and gave a surprised look before continuing. "Dungeon diving history includes [Ape's Paradise] and [Frozen Wasteland]. Has been observed to enter both dungeons alone and clear them with some of the fastest clear speeds. Now, why would a man like you be hiding your power?" He wrapped up the papers and gave me a piercing look
My entire body felt like it was on pins and needles. I took a quick breath and calmed myself down while remembering I had a C rank defensive skill activated right now and said. "I didn't want any trouble the first few days after awakening."
"Trouble huh? Well, it always manages to find us" He stared around my apartment before continuing. "I won't be here long, I'm a very busy man. I came to offer an olive branch"
He walked around my apartment and continued talking in that arrogant tone "The highest dungeon in this beautiful city of ours requires me and a team of others to regularly clear so that a dungeon break does not occur. Looking at your past 2 days history, and the fact that you can comfortably keep that defensive skill active after all this time...means your power should be upper-Rank C, even possibly nearing B"
He gave a smile as he said that last part. This man was the top ranker in Outer Bank X. B rank hunter, Cohen Anderson.
"We need more talents like you to keep the safety of this city and its...citizens. We have casualties every now and then and are in need of another powerful hunter in the team. The next dungeon dive is 3 days from now. We gather at [Solael's Castle] at 10 am, be sure not to miss it."
He finished the last few words, looked around some more, and walked out the door without giving me another look.
I felt anger quickly boiling up inside me before I squashed it down. How the hell did they find me so fast?!
I closed the door of the apartment and went towards a chair with a horrible expression on my face. Cohen Anderson. The most powerful hunter in this city, and the one at the forefront of the defense against the C rank dungeon, [Solael's Castle]
The dungeon monolith always showed a deep orange hue, showing that it could shine red at any moment and cause a dungeon break. Cohen forms a party to clear this dungeon twice a week. The hunters that form this party always change though, as there are casualties in almost every dive
That was how hard a C rank dungeon was. Even with a B rank hunter leading the team, there were still casualties. This information was commonplace in the local hunter platforms. New hunters were regularly recruited to help in the defense of the city, but there would be a Memoriam at least once a week for a fallen Rank C hunter on the team
I wanted to increase my strength slowly before doing what I can to help without the risk of death, but I guess that's out of the window.
My anger was kept in check as I recalled his tone that felt more like a command. Arrogance, that was all that I felt from him.
Sigh. This was what power could do to you. Cohen was widely known to be arrogant, but he was the strongest hunter in the city and could be relied on to prevent a dungeon break from [Solael's Castle]
It looks like I will be visiting a C rank dungeon faster than I thought, but there was one thing he was wrong about. My power was definitely not upper-rank C or nearing B. As soon as I learned the appropriate skill book, with my endless casts nothing will stand in my way. A ferocious expression rose in my face as old plans were thrown out and new ones formed.
[Noah[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 70]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 70]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-96)(F-Heal-10)(E-Arctic Armor- 79)(D-Flames of Torment-31)(D-Safeguard-8)(D-Danger Sense-5)(C-Arcanist's Sphere of Protection-2)]
[Equipment: (E-Swift Boots)]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 9 - Reflection and planning
I reviewed everything I had been doing so far and looked for what I could change. I was going to keep farming [Frozen Wasteland] tomorrow, but I would also be heading towards one of the rank D dungeons in the city, [Goblin King's Abode, for at least a few rounds
I just learned a C rank defensive skill that most hunters can't even use because of its high energy requirement. There shouldn't be any surprises that might pop up to endanger my life. Along with the rank D [Flames of Torment, I should be able to clear the 30-floor dungeon without an issue
Another thing was the usage of my skills. If I really can cast endlessly, then I need to use this to my advantage even more. [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] and [Danger Senese] were still active. I sat on my old bed then closed my eyes, activating both [Safeguard] and [Arctic Armor] too
A few minutes passed and I calmed down some more and realized what I might have missed. [Frozen Wasteland] wasn't as actively cleared as other E ranked dungeons and had a tint of orange. What would happen when it was cleared multiple times in one day? A change would be very noticeable.
Sigh. I looked to my ceiling as I realized how full of mistakes I still am. Today I'll rest, tomorrow I'll start moving for real.The man adorned with rank C [Item]s sat in the back of a luxurious car heading back to his manor. He had a distasteful expression on his face as if he had just swallowed a bug.
There were very few people he hated in this world as he stood above the masses. Noah, the newly awakened hunter he just visited, landed near the top of the list of the most irksome people. It wasn't whether he was strong or weak, it was his attitude.
He looked down on people with such a pathetic attitude. Wanting to lay low and evade danger after awakening to a powerful ability? Distasteful. You should use your God-given talents to help the other pathetic masses to live in this world a little longer. The strong ruled the weak in this era, and I do not want a weakling in my city. Either he falls in line or...
A phone quickly connected in the car and Cohen spoke. "Revise his danger level, make it B. He was able to use a defensive skill that would have taken me a few attacks to destroy, and it remained active the whole time I was talking to him. Find out which skill matches the description and gauge his power. He is most likely a naturally awakened individual with an [Inherent Skill] that adds a large amount of [Focus, allowing him to jump over rankings"
There was silence on the other end of the line before a reply came. "Yes Sir"
He was the only B Rank Hunter in Outer Bank X. He held the city's life in his hands. He could do whatever he wanted with nobody batting an eye. The local government could not control him. Nobody else in this city could contend with him. And that is how things will stayAs soon as I got up in the morning, I compiled everything I knew about Cohen Anderson. Besides his unstable attitude, he was the only one in Outer Bank X holding a rank B skill. A few months back, when his team that was made up of rank C Hunters took down the BOSS of [Solael's Castle] with half the team wiping, he was lucky enough to receive a rank B skill book from the BOSS
BOSSes rarely drop any skill books or items that are a higher tier then they are, but this chance increases when it is bosses from high ranking dungeons. A rank C dungeon is filled with hundreds of beasts of that level, along with a huge BOSS that earns the title of a Titan. These huge bosses are extremely powerful and have the chance of dropping something that is of higher rank than the dungeon itself.
Anderson was that lucky. He joined the ranks of B tiered Hunters and took his position at the top of this city. His team never remained the same over the months, with rank C hunters having a high mortality rate from the dangers of [Solael's Castle]. I would soon be joining them a few days from now
I thought over everything and began moving, hailing a ride and heading down to [Frozen Wasteland] for the last time. Since they already know I cleared this, I'll clear it a few more times to raise the fund for a skill I didn't think I would need
I spent around 20 minutes for each run yesterday, and it took me less than two hours to clear it multiple times and bring in more than half a million. I'll only need $400 k to get the skill that I have in mind though
This time around I was even more efficient. I entered the dungeon and immolated the huge bear another 3 times, giving me a multitude of [Core]s, and two skill books that were only worth selling
In less than an hour, I had finished with [Frozen Wasteland] and went down to the central Awakened Center to fully start my next phase of plans. The [Core]s and [Skill Book]s sold for $447,000, and I went towards the Skill Shop to buy the skill that will allow me to let loose with no reservations
The skill was still behind the thick glass, which I quickly called the person at the front desk and bought. Rank C skill, [Camouflage]. The skill allowed you to blend into your surroundings and had to be kept active to keep you from being seen. Besides extremely rich perverts, not many people used this skill
I would be relying on it to keep my movements hidden while I do things that go against the norm for many people even now.
I wasted no time learning the skill and went out of the Awakened Center. I still had my F rank license, and it would allow me to get past any gates no matter the rank. The gates and guards placed around the dungeon monoliths were to make sure normal people do not pass through and get themselves killed while trying their luck in the dungeon. Hunters could pass through the gate no matter the rank they held as long as they had a license, as many of the hunters congregating around dungeons wasn't just for the purpose of diving
I called a ride and gave directions to head towards [Goblin King's Abode].
Dungeons get progressively harder as the ranks increase, as can be seen how a rank C dungeon was barely being handled by a B rank hunter surrounded by rank C hunters. The difficulty from E to D was also a huge gulf to cross for many, with D rank hunters opting to dive in groups of 10, or C rank hunters forming smaller groups to receive more profit.
Rank D dungeons are very profitable, but when you have to split the loot between 10 people, the returns are minimal when looking at the dangers you face.
I had the driver stop while we were at the center of downtown, where you could take many paths to get to a lot of dungeons. I found the nearest alley and activated [Camouflage] along with [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] and [Arctic Armor]. [Danger Sense] was still kept active all this time.
The rank C [Camouflage] could hide a hunter from anyone of that same rank, with powerful rank B hunters being able to notice you fairly easily. If someone were to be keeping tabs on me right now, I am 100% sure it would not be a B rank hunter, so my movements from now on would be hidden
I stepped out into the middle of the street with cars blazing down and people rushing about, not a single person was able to see anything, with a few bumping into me and tilting their heads to see exactly what hit them
As soon I confirmed the usefulness of the skill I rushed towards the direction of [Goblin King's Abode] and arrived there in 20 minutes.
This time around, I didn't bother showing my license and just passed through the man-made gates, the rank D guards on the side being none the wiser. None of the hunters cl.u.s.tered inside even looked my way either, increasing my confidence for the new plans from now on.
I then looked up at the huge monolith that shone with a blue hue. This dungeon was regularly cleared by rank C and D hunters, being one of the more profitable dungeons because of the special drop that occasionally comes out, [King's Valor]. This item was a full body armor that increased your defense by a wide margin while not hindering your speed. As rank C [Item]s were extremely rare, and mostly hoarded by those diving into the only rank C dungeon, this item was one of the hottest pieces of equipment for hunters
I stopped reminiscing and went towards one of the square doors of the monolith, placing my hand and instantly being transported to [Goblin King's Abode].
[Noah[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 70]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 70]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-98)(F-Heal-21)(E-Arctic Armor- 95)(D-Flames of Torment-49)(D-Safeguard-15)(D-Danger Sense-33)(C-Arcanist's Sphere of Protection-25)(C-Camouflage-3)]
[Equipment: (E-Swift Boots)]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 10 - [Goblin King's Abode]
The layouts of high ranking dungeons gradually became more extravagant. In [Goblin King's Abode, the first floor you were transported into had overgrowths and trees all around. Goblins traveled in groups of 5 and paroled the entire floor. The moment you attacked one, they would alert others with a loud signal and have them all rush to where you were
Parties created to dive into this dungeon had to make sure they had enough damage dealers to take care of at least one of the groups before the other two groups rushed in. If your party ever found themselves surrounded by 3 groups of goblins, you had to say your prayers
I looked to the group of goblins that was just alerted in front of me. The goblins had a layer of green scales on them, with their heights reaching up to 3 meters. Four of them held clubs and maces with one holding a wooden staff
I began by testing the effectiveness of the rank F [Fireball] that had its proficiency almost reach a hundred, making it on par with E rank skills. The swirling fireball that was even further condensed rushed towards one of the goblins and exploded
The goblin was pushed back a few feet but quickly got back up like nothing was wrong. Its green scales were only slightly dented. Damn, here I was thinking [Fireball] might still have some uses in the future. Its fast casting and moving speed would actually be good if I was ever going against things that didn't have such high defenses like monsters, but that wasn't something I was looking forward to
The dashing goblins were almost here though, so I initiated my most offensive skill on hand, [Flames of Torment]. A line of fire quickly appeared in front of me, moving forward to hit the foremost goblin. There was a second of pause after the impact before a scream rang out as the line of fire pierced from the front to its back
I made a grasping motion to the pillar of flames and moved my hand to the right. The skill followed my command, acting like a thick rope that moved horizontally and bisected the heads of the two goblins on the right
The remaining two goblins were immediately frightened to see such quick deaths of their friends and they began dashing back. I wouldn't give them a chance though, so I moved forward and kept the distance, quickly commanding the skill to coil around the two goblins, burning them to a crisp
Haha! This was a method I had begun using after becoming familiar with this skill. I didn't have to just allow the skill to shoot flames in front of me, as my proficiency rose I could more easily control the pillar of flames to not just move forward, diagonally, or horizontally. With enough concentration, I could command the skill to act as agile as a rope to suffocate my enemies in flames
As soon as I finished them off, rustling sounds could be heard as another 5 goblins dashed in. I didn't sit still this time around, giving them a cold grin and running towards them, a pillar of flames eerily squirming in front of me.
I practiced controlling and moving [Flames of Torment] as I liked, resulting in dying screams from the goblins. Soon enough, there were another 5 burnt monsters on their ground, their bodies still bubbling from the extreme heat
I had already taken two groups, there should be one more remaining. I didn't wait for them to come and went towards the screams and sounds to the side, taking the last 5 down just as easy as their previous friends.
From then on, it was just me rushing down the floors, increasing the proficiency of my now favorite skill. On a few of the floors, I tested the effectiveness of [Camouflage] against monsters and the results were spectacular. I could sneak in a few meters around them without them noticing a single thing, but If I stayed at that location for just a few seconds or went in any closer to them then eyes would shift to where I was at.
I wasn't sure if it was just sharper senses or a stronger nose that alerted them as you neared, but it was fun running around without being seen
From the 10th floor onward, more goblin archers and mages began appearing, shooting arrows, fireballs, lightning, and frost bolts towards me. I had [Arctic Armor] and [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] always active though, causing the arrows to be bounced away from my body and the spells to simply disappear the moment they came in contact with the transparent sphere around me
All they could see was a small being deflecting and absorbing their attacks while he lashed out with a thick pillar of fire that either tightened their bodies to death or blasted their heads apart. Surprising the goblin mages and archers with [Camouflage] was even deadlier, as they can't even cast a single spell before they become lifeless
Adrenaline was coursing through me as I watched these D rank 3-meter tall monsters easily fall, but I reminded myself this wasn't what I was aiming for. They were D rank, they were weak, just like me. I cannot think too highly of myself. Any random millionaire could buy skills just as strong and enough [Core]s to easily make someone just as powerful.
The change I wanted to make inside of me was to not feel that feeling of cowardice, that feeling of helplessness that I wallowed in for so long. Whatever stood in my way, whether it be human or monster, whether it be the largest Titans I will eventually be facing, I wanted to face it head-on without fear
I reigned in my emotions and rushed down the floors even faster.
Within an hour and a half, I had rushed down all 29 floors of the dungeon and stood near the last steps of stairs that would take me to the BOSS room.
I realized the pain of normal hunters and why most of them only dived into dungeons once or twice at most a day. Me rushing down while mowing enemies left and right still required me to spend a few minutes on each floor. There being so many floors and monsters, the hunters in a party had to put their lives on the line to kill monsters on each floor while resting to recover their energy and heal up right after
Just going through one dungeon could take them 5 hours or more. Me being able to endlessly cast my skills was such a huge thing that even now I found myself questioning if it was still real.
I went down the steps while making sure all defensive skills and even [Camouflage] was active, and I was soon in a huge clearing with a small mountain in the middle. Scratch that, not a mountain, just a very savage looking goblin that was about 6 meters in size. Its skin was shining a dark black that made it very prominent in this clearing. Holy shit. It held no weapons on its hands, and yet its hands alone seemed enough to smash anything coming near it
This BOSS was the killer of many Hunters, its large size and strength quickly weeding out inexperienced hunters from knowledgeable ones. At Least 2 rank D Knights or 1 rank C with the heaviest of armors were required in order to withstand even one of its strikes. You also better hope your team's Mages and Berserkers were saving up their energy to unleash multiple spells and attacks on this beast to take it down in as little time as possible, or deaths would follow
I was a distance away from it, so I thought I wouldn't be found out with [Camouflage] active, but it's huge eyes honed in on me the instant I arrived in the clearing. So blending into your surroundings is not enough to evade the senses of this type of monster? And I wasn't sure if this rank D boss could be classified as a Titan yet, but its size made me feel like an ant as I had to raise my head just to meet its gaze
I felt my blood pumping as I found myself in this staredown against something more than 3 times my size. I was not scared. I looked at this huge beast and I saw my goals. I saw my future!
I slowly began walking, and my walk gradually changed into a run. The beast stood still, not making a single sound. A smile broke out on my face as unrestrained laughter could be heard. A few meters long thick line of flames quickly appeared beside me as I charged towards this humongous beast
As soon as I got near it, a huge black fist covered the entirety of my sight. My laughter didn't stop as the line of flames also shot out and wrapped around that fist. Then...a huge impact was felt
BOOM!!!
The fist felt like the whole world was dropped on me. I had seen it smash into the sphere that was protecting me, and instantly felt myself fly back at a speed I've never been exposed to before
BAM!
I was smashed into the wall behind me a second later, a spherical dent created as I dropped down to my feet. Not a single hair on my body was harmed, the rank C skill, [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection, was not for show!
The beast in front of me didn't stay silent anymore as a mournful howl rang throughout the huge clearing. Its right fist had fallen to the ground, forever removed from its arms. The calmness in its eyes was completely gone as its feet smacked the ground and jumped towards me
One of its remaining good hands reached out towards me as if trying to snuff out a candle. I commanded the cable of flames to twist and form into a circular shape while watching this palm crushing down on me. The circular line of flames then began spinning at high speeds when the palm landed
ZZIING!
A horrible sound could be heard as flesh and bones were cut apart. The Goblin's King's remaining arm was grotesquely bisected in the middle, dark red blood gushing out. We were only a meter apart, and I stared at its furious face as I commanded the spinning line of flames to rush at this giant's neck
ZING!
A second passed, and then the head of the 6-meter tall monster crashed to the ground.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 11 - The right skills to buy
I let out a laugh as I relished on the feeling of taking down such a humongous beast.
I was even happier from learning how to better use your skills as your proficiency rose. [Flames of Torment] shot out a line of flames in front of me when I first casted it, but as I gradually kept on using it, new ways to manipulate it came to light.
From being able to move the line of flames in the direction I wanted to twisting the thick flames like a rope, to now connecting their ends and adding a spin to it, making them even deadlier
This made me look forward to learning and improving higher ranking skills as time passed.
I continued thinking while observing the headless giant before I gathered the things that dropped. Aside from the [Core]s, there was also a rank D skill book, [Ice Shards: Drops sharp shards of ice at a specific location]
This skill book was in fairly high demand and could be sold for a decent amount of money. It didn't fit with the current me and I wouldn't be learning it as my goal now is to focus on obtaining an offensive rank C skill. Along with that, I wanted to buy other skills like [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection, [Arctic Armor, and [Danger Sense] that could be activated, and on my case, become passive skills that only end after I command it
This was my next phase of plans, skills that I could turn on and keep on without them requiring anymore thought from me. If I can collect a multitude of support and defensive skills that provide a variety of effects and layer them on top of each other...just the thought of it kept my blood pumping. The next skill will be a killer rank C skill that will be of use when I dive into [Solael's Castle] in a few days, and the other skills I had in mind will follow after
[Flames of Torment] had a very high proficiency currently with its power most likely nearing rank C skills, but a genuine rank C offensive skill is nothing to laugh at with their large scale of damage
I sat down besides the fallen giant and began absorbing the [Vitality] and [Strength] [Core]s it dropped. I had collected tons from the smaller goblins across the 29 floors, and planned to bring my [Vitality] and [Strength] attributes higher than 100.
As soon as I finished, I reached out towards the green crystal that rose when the goblin king was defeated and was transported outside. My [Camouflage] was already activated, and not a single one of the many hunters cl.u.s.tered in groups or selling items and skills around the encampment of the monolith noticed me
The areas around safe dungeons usually turned into small markets of their own, with hunters trading skills, cores, or items without going through official channels like Awakened Centers. The selling of these things around the dungeons gave much less profit though, so unless a hunter was willing to pay a high price for a specific skill or item they wanted, most people sell their loot to the Awakened Centers.
The government controlling these centers gobbled up everything they could, paying top prices for materials to strengthen their soldiers. The funny thing about it though was how many of these soldiers would be stationed in high end cities where the rich were cl.u.s.tered together. That's just how this world was.
I ignored the hustle and bustle of the environment and neared one of the square doors of the monolith, being transported back into [Goblin King's Abode] for another run. I was planning to dive into dungeons like a madman for the days to come and acc.u.mulate as much as I could before being fully prepared for any situations when diving in to [Solael's Castle] and dealing with that arrogant prick."Sir, we lost him a few hours ago after he got off a car downtown" Butler
"What? How do you lose someone when we have eyes all over the city?" Cohen asked the burly man that was dressed in a tuxedo over the phone.
"It was our mistake Sir, we'll be sure to find him as soon as possible. If I may, I would like to share my thoughts about this subject though" The butler hung his head low as he talked to his master. This was the man that had saved his life when monsters were about to snuff it out, and he had been indebted to him from then on
He was an official holding a high position in a major firm, but he left everything behind and followed his master willingly over the past months, managing his financials and turning a blind eye to the many tastes his master had. After all, nobody was perfect.
"What is it?"
"There are many inconsistencies about him that we are unsure of, and have not yet grasped exactly how high his level of power is. My apprehension increased today as he was able to escape under the watch of many of our people. Might I suggest that we approach him in a different manner?" He carefully spoke out every word, making sure his words would not be the cause of anger
There was silence on the other end of the phone before Cohen spoke. "Do you doubt me?"
The butler quickly frowned and hung his head even lower before he replied "I would never. I am only speaking from an abundance of caution of this man who has suddenly awakened to a power nearing rank B in just a few days"
A pause followed thereafter, before a reply came with the call being ended a moment later. "I'll keep that in mind."
The butler wiped off the perspiration and looked out of the mansion. He did not succeed, his master had still become angry.My second run of [Goblin King's Abode] was fruitful, as the BOSS had been kind enough to drop the sought after armor [King's Valor]
The 6 meter goblin had horrible burns all over its body, as I took my time with it to get more practice facing something that much bigger than me. This was all in preparation to go against much bigger BOSSes that fully earned the title of TITANS from rank C and above
One of the things I learned was that if you didn't have a strong enough defensive skill, it didn't matter how knowledgeable you were about its moves, as a single punch would be able to stain your body all over the wall
I equipped [King's Valor] and felt a new layer of clothes wrap around me. The armor had a light blue metal sheen to it with a slight protrusion at the chest, covering a majority of my body besides my extremities and head. The greatest thing about this armor was the fact it did not feel awkward to move around in, as if the metallic attribute was malleable. I could move and stretch my body even better than normal with no issues
The third run of the dungeon gave me more than enough cores that my backpack was almost overflowing now, along with the rank D skill [Triple Shot] that was commonly used by ranged Berserkers that used bows
I had taken more than half of the day diving into this dungeon, and it was already night outside. Tightening my overflowing bag on my back, I left [Goblin King's Abode] encampment and went towards the downtown, with my [Camouflage] active as usual.
Once I was in the middle of the city, I turned the skill off and called for a ride that dropped me off the central Awakened Center 20 minutes after. It was rush hour around this time with many people running about downtown. Many drowning their troubles and fear with alcohol and many more going towards the unsavory places deep in the city
I went inside the Awakened Center and had to be taken to a private room because of the volume of things I was trying to sell. A fat looking middle aged man replaced the gorgeous woman that was talking to me and quickly handled the transaction, taking all my remaining cores and skills from [Goblin King's Abode] and offering to deposit $1.6 million into my account
I looked at these numbers as if they were imaginary, and they might as well be as they would be gone a few minutes from now when I purchase the rank C skills. I became a high profile client in the man's eyes as he asked me if there was anything else I needed before completing the transaction, and I told him the names of the skills I wanted
A few minutes later, 3 rank C skill books were situated at the table next to us, and only $100 k was deposited in my bank account.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 12 - Just the beginning
The new Rank C skills I had bought were [Explosive Rune- Upon physical contact with your enemy, brand them with a chaotic rune that will explode on your command, [Aura of Haste- An aura that increases movement speed, attack speed and cast speed envelops you, and [Life Essence- Gain increased vitality(30) and regeneration at a great cost]
These skills correctly fit with the direction I was going towards. Multiple skills that can remain active for me at all times along with my first offensive rank C skill. [Explosive Rune] was a BOSS killer that mages wanted in their arsenal because of its significant damage. The only problem is that it drained the entirety of a rank C's energy, and they had to come in contact with the boss to initiate it.
The Mage hunters had to make sure that they had full energy before the BOSS fight and that there was a competent enough Knight distracting the BOSS, otherwise the moment they get near themselves they'll get squashed
Once the rune was placed on the BOSS, half of the fight was done, as it dealt such a significant amount of damage that it could even outright kill a rank D BOSS if the rune was placed in a critical location or maim a rank C BOSS. The problem was, no mage ever dared get near a rank C BOSS unless they were wishing for death
With my overlapping defensive skills and the ever so increasing active skills, I should have no problem using [Explosive Rune] to its full potential.
After the sale was finished, the joyful man's face jiggled as he said "Here is my card. Give me a call or text whenever you're coming down and I'll be sure to receive you to the best of my abilities!"
I nodded to the man that had a full smile on his face and left the awakened center. As soon as I was out I blended into the rushing people and activated [Camouflage] once more
The nearest Hunter Lodging was not too far away from the Awakened Center, and I got there in under 10 minutes. I quickly received the keys to one of their luxurious rooms and found myself in a room similar to the one I stayed in before
I placed my bag down on the bed and eagerly began looking at my new skills. [Explosive Rune] would have to wait to be tested later, but as soon as I activated [Aura of Haste] and [Life Essence, a red and green color began appearing on my body. The colors would come and fade a moment later, being fairly transparent and only visible if you were to really focus
I felt my body become visibly lighter and saw a 30 appear on my [Vitality] attribute
Haha! As long as I found skills like these and layered them on my body, would I have anything to worry about?
I shook myself out of my reverie and ordered room service, this time getting 2 plates of a very huge lobster. I went over my day and thought about what I would be doing tomorrow while enjoying the supple texture of the crustaceans. This was a habit I was planning on developing regularly, to think back to what I did today along with any mistakes I made, and how to improve in the future. I went to sleep soon after as I was dead tired.Anderson was holding a drink as he overlooked the city atop his mansion. The thing on his mind was the newly awakened hunter he couldn't seem to keep a track of. He knew all of the hunters that were C rank or near it in the city, and he made sure to introduce himself whenever new ones appeared
They were quickly reigned in and called upon whenever his team lost a member while diving in [Solael's Castle]. None of them could deny his words. So why was it that this new one pissed him off so much? Anderson thought back to that pathetic apartment and realized it was his eyes. Eyes that seemed unyielding, that seemed to say he wasn't afraid
Hah! How could he not be afraid? Whatever [Inherent Skill] he awakened, does he really think he could look at me with an expression like that? I held the paramount skill [Giant's Strength, which allowed me to stand toe to toe against a C rank TITAN. Who are you compared to a BOSS I killed every week?
The one person he usually listened to in this city had also told him to be cautious because of the many unknowns, but it only furthered his distaste towards the hunter. No matter. I will see exactly what gave someone like you the confidence to look at me with such a gaze
[Cohen Anderson[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 188]
[Focus: 163]
[Strength: 195]
[Skill(s): (F-Lightning Strike-41)(F-Shield-33)(E-Strengthening-41)(D-Minor Regeneration-43)(D-Quick Speed-42)(D-Harden-38)(D-Blade Edge-45)(D-Danger Sense-31)(C-Aura Blade-49)(C-Regeneration-23)(C-Heal-33)(C-Life Essence- 25)(C-Blast-19)(C-Blade of Lightning-55)(B-Giant's Strength){INHERENT-WRATHFUL}]
[Equipment(s): (C-Igneous Sword)(C-Igneous Armor)(C-Ring of Storage)(C-Fiery Boots)Early morning the next day, I was already up and heading towards [Goblin King's Abode]. Tomorrow would be the day when I would head down to [Solael's Castle] with some of the highest rankers in the city, so I had to use my time as efficiently as possible today.
The first task was to rush through the dungeon in under an hour and a half as I was aiming to dive in at least 5 times. With this in mind, I bought a specialized hunter bag that was woven with materials meant to stretch. The bag had straps that tightly hugged your body so that a strong hunter could move without any issues.
This was a poor hunter's item, as the truly rich ones had purchased equipment that allowed them to store whatever they wanted in a large space. I put this item off for now as it would have taken a majority of my funds, and my goal was obtaining more skills currently
I repeated the same process as yesterday and arrived at the monolith at 7 am. It was a fairly cloudy morning and still early, so there were significantly fewer hunters around. Some had already set up shop with their skill books and cores, others meeting up and forming parties while getting to know one another
Still activating [Camouflage, I entered the dungeon and appeared on the clearing filled with trees once more. This time though, besides the skills I originally had, I had added [Aura of Haste] and [Life Essence]. I ran towards the first group of goblins that I could see and rushed up to them while I was still hidden
They were alerted the moment I came near them, but that didn't stop me from reaching my hand out and placing it on each of them while they were still disorganized. With my increased speed from [Aura of Haste, I could do this much without an issue. I then pulled back a few feet away and watched as black tattooish circles spread to cover of their bodies
I observed them as they turned my way, none the wise about the runes that had sprouted on their bodies. I gave the command and the rank C skill [Explosive Rune] was fully utilized
BANG!
The portion of the goblins' body that was covered in the runes exploded with a huge force, throwing chunks of flesh and bones everywhere as 5 goblins were soon lying in their own pool of blood.
The damage was just as expected for a rank C skill, powerful! I speedily cleared the floors like this. With all the defensive and support skills kept active, I pressed down the floors with [Camouflage] hiding me and giving me enough time to come in contact with the monsters that exploded a second after. Some floors I still used [Flames and Torment] and kept on experimenting with it as it's proficiency continued to rise. More than an hour quickly passed and I was through all 29 floors and headed to the BOSS once more
The 6-meter tall Goblin King looked as ruthless as always, and noticed me as soon as I came down even though I was hidden. I walked towards it slowly until I stood a meter away, where it stared me down. This one was one of the peculiar traits of this BOSS that interested me. When the fight began it was always so calm as if it was measuring me up. During the fight though, it would go completely berserk
It was still a monster though and threw a fist down at me a second later. I raised my small hand to match this fist as my palm was opened to receive it
PAH!
A sound like that of the loudest slap resounded as [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] absorbed all the damage and the ground beneath me cracked. The arm of the Goblin King rapidly had a runic tattoo spreading on it, and the boss quickly felt something wrong as it grabbed its skin and tried to rip it off
BOOM!
A deafening explosion rang out as it's entire arm blew apart and it let out a thundering howl. The enraged king reacted fast, throwing another fist with its remaining arm...only for the same thing to repeat
I was standing at the same location, the ground around me full of cracks as if an earthquake occurred. I had sunk a few inches into the ground as I calmly looked up at the Goblin King that was missing both of its arms
RAAAA!
It let out an angry shout as if it would not give up and kicked its right leg downwards.
PAH! BOOM!
The same scene repeated and now its right leg was gone. The large beast could not support its weight as it fell backwards with a loud thunk. Loud breathing could be heard as it's entire face was twisted in pain. I climbed out of the small hole I had been repeatedly kicked in and jumped up on top of the body of the beast, landing on its square abdominal muscles and traveling forward to its face
I looked down at it as it could not move or do much of anything else.
Besides the heavy breathing and a pained look, I could see another expression on the Goblin King's face after more than half of its body was blown away. It was extremely distinct while I looked at its huge eyes. I had seen this expression before. I had felt it before. It was fear. I reached my hand out and let my palm touch it's forehead, leaving it there as I commanded [Explosive Rune] to combust
BOOM!
Another deafening explosion rang out in the clearing before silence ensued. [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] and [Arctic Armor] didn't allow even a single stone or meat to land on my body, negating the force of the explosion as if it was nothing.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 13 - Preparations done
The feeling of dominating such a huge being from the beginning to the end was exhilarating, to say the least, and a testament of just how far and fast I can grow.
The first run of [Goblin King's Abode] gave out an abundant amount of [Core]s and an [Item] called [Goblin's Sword]. I did not need the sword, so this would be one of the items that I would be selling later. I continued on and dived into the dungeon once more
The second run gave me even more cores, along with the skill book called [Flame Bolt] The third, fourth and fifth run collectively gave me one item and two more skill books: [D-Bow of the Veteran, [D-Swipe, and [D- Restrain]
All of them were rank D materials that I would not be needing and would also be getting sold. Throughout the dungeon runs, I made sure to use [Flames of torment] along with my main skill of [Explosive Runes] that beautifully took down the monsters.
This process took me an entire day and I was able to bring a few of my skills to the proficiency of 100. The skills that reached a milestone of 100 jumped up explosively in power. [Fireball, which was a rank F skill, now had power greater than a skill 1 rank above it. The balls of fire summoned now had a high propelling force that made them rush out even faster. [Arctic Armor] even more comfortably hugged my body when it reached 100, an extra layer of ice appearing that further increased my defense, and also making me look like some knight you would find roaming the coldest arctic wastelands
This marked the end of my dive for the day as I had been diving for the past 10 hours and it was already in the evening. I left the dungeon, [Camouflaged] as usual, and went downtown where I once again called for a ride and went all the way down to the Awakened Center.
In the awakened center. I had given a text to the fat salesman beforehand and he was able to meet me and bring me to the private room the minute that I arrived.
I entered the room and emptied my huge bag that held many cores, skill books, and items. After counting everything the total came out to 2.8 million. I once again gave a list of the things that I was looking for and they were quickly brought to me, reducing the money I would have taken all the way down to $ 500 K.
I would have loved to spend the rest of it, but I couldn't find anymore applicable defensive or support skills that fit the criteria I set for myself in the Awakened Center. I would soon have to branch out to find more fitting skills
I had bought three more skills and one item, all of them being rank C. The first was a movement type skill that I had been looking forward to called [Whirlwind]. The second was another support type skill that was called [Increased penetration]. The third skill was a life-preserving skill called [Regeneration]
The item that I bought last was a simple [Ring of Storage] which many high ranking hunters found themselves buying. It took away the hassle of caring around the skill books and items and cores that were collected over the course of the day.
As soon as I finished my business. I gave my thanks to the salesman and left the awakened center, blending in and using [Camouflage] as soon as I was out and headed towards the Hunter Lounge.
The process was quick as usual, and I grabbed the room fairly quickly.
I was finally able to relax and absorb the [Core]s that I kept behind. The plan was to reach the maximum that I could while using rank D cores.
I then learned the skills and placed the storage ring on my hands, using my energy to feel the wide space inside of it. It was a large enough space for two people to be squeezed in
The [Increased Penetration] skill allowed me to deal more damage and further ignore the defenses from my enemies when I had it active. It was a much-used skill by Mages and Berserkers to deal finishing blows on BOSSes
And the [Regeneration] skill was as simple as that. If I ever somehow took a large amount of damage then I could easily cast the regeneration skill to begin healing without losing too much of my health
The movement type skill that was called [Whirlwind] would allow me to dash forward and close the distance to my enemies at a very fast speed. This would be good for surprise attacks or evading very dangerous shots.
[Regeneration and [Whirlwind] could not be activated and tested at this time. But I quickly activated [Increased Penetration] along with the rest of the defensive and support type skills that were in my arsenal to keep their proficiency rising
I ordered room service as usual, and this time around I grabbed 3 platters of shrimp. My appetite seemed to gradually be getting larger and larger as time passed.
I enjoyed the food when it came and took some time to think once or more over what happened today. I went over my run in the dungeon, the skills are used, and how to better use them or further improve
I felt like I had fully prepared for what was to happen tomorrow. With all of these skills that most hunters would be able to activate momentarily for a life-saving moment, I had them activated at all times. Even knowing how huge the gap was in strength between rank D and C dungeons, seeing how easily I had been taking down the 6-meter goblin of [Goblin King's Abode] gave me confidence for the officially titled TITAN of [Solael's Castle]
Early morning the next day I woke up, grabbed a shower, and had some breakfast at the diner area of the hotel. It was already eight am when I left the lodge to head towards [Solael's Castle]
This dungeon was renowned as the hardest dungeon in our city. It was a dungeon that many people died in until a specialized team was born to clear it. The dungeon always bordered in the high-risk zone.
There was no encampment around the dungeon as usual. With many people setting up their shops and stalls quite a distance away. In the case of any dungeon break happening, people wanted the chance to at least be able to run away from the onslaught of beasts
The huge monolith was colored in a dark shade of orange, pulsating at a few seconds.
The only road leading to it was blocked by military trucks and cars making sure the civilians never neared this area
I didn't bother even showing my license and just passed through the guard point using my [Camouflage] skill. I soon arrived at the bottom of the monolith and I looked up at the huge structure
I closed my eyes and sat down near it, making sure I was still hidden while activating all my defensive and supportive skills, watching the proficiency rising in real-time.
I felt extremely confident in anything that I would face today as the previous day I had also absorbed many of the [Core]s that I didn't sell, with my [Vitality] and [Strength] attributes capping at 150
Along with the many skills that supported me. I highly doubt it given a B rank hunter could endanger me.
Not too long after a few people began appearing. I stayed hidden as I observed them. The first two were huge dudes in their 30s. They both held huge shields that seemed to cover their entire bodies. On their other hands were maces with spikes that shone red. Besides the armor they had on them, they didn't seem anything special. But these were genuine C ranked hunters
The next to arrive were women that both held staffs on their hands with magician's robes wrapping around them. They had a look of apprehension as they looked at the huge monolith.
The four of them seemed familiar with each other as they began discussing some things soon after. The next one to arrive was a girl who seemed fairly young, in her twenties at most. This one had a blue sword on her waist.
With her body covered with what I would only assume to be [King's Valor] that t I also wore. Surprisingly. this girl did not go towards and talk to me first four. But she actually held a confident look on her face as she looked towards the huge monolith, making me surprised, as any rank C hunter could find themselves dead in this dungeon so many held apprehensions
Anderson arrived soon after. His arrival stopped the discussions among everyone as they stared towards him. His eyes glazed over the five people and then soon turned into piercing eyes that came to my location. I calmly deactivated the defensive and support skills and then turned off [Camouflage]
Surprise gasps came out of the rank C hunters as none of them were able to notice me. I wanted to test it just to be sure if Anderson would be able to pierce through the C rank skill's effect even if its proficiency was increased. Maybe I had to wait until it neared 100 for it to have a complete effect on rank B hunters
While Anderson's piercing gaze did not leave my sight, he walked over and said. "You really have such an excessive amount of energy? That you would waste it on hiding this early this morning?"
His tone sounded very calm, but his words dripped with disdain. I replied back. "Nothing to worry about, I was only testing the strength of the people I would be leaving my life to today"
I seemed to have a knack of making him angry, his face became sour and he turned away from me and addressed everyone.
"I want the dungeon dive today to be a very clean one. We have two new hunters joining us, this one goes by Rachel and this one is Noah. One is a berserker and the other is a mage." He pointed to me and the girl that held a confident look on her face as he continued
"For you two, this will be your first run so follow all directions and do not lag behind. This dungeon is different from the ones that you are commonly used to" These words were directed to Rachel and I.
"There is only a single floor in this dungeon, and it takes us almost half the day just to clear it. Do not be surprised by what you see. Protect yourself and cover each other's backs and we should all come out of this alive. When the boss appears, leave it to me and follow everything I say" He articulated the next words very slowly
"In the case any problems occur and you see it coming towards you do not stand idle. Run, or you will die." I listened to his somewhat inspiring speech as we all prepared to dive into the dungeon
I had done my research previously about [Solael's Castle] and his words were not false. The dungeon only had one singular floor, but this one floor took the lives of many many hunters.
As the speech was quickly wrapped up, he went towards the other four party members to discuss something, and I noticed uncomfortable look pop up on their faces. Jeez, did this guy actually have bad relationsh.i.p.s with everyone?
The girl that was apparently new just like me came towards me and said with a puzzled expression. "Why does it seem like there's friction between you and the strongest hunter in the city?"
I smiled at her and replied. "I'm not sure either. I have no problem with the guy. But he seemed to not like me the moment so he saw me."
She c.o.c.ked her head in confusion as if she did not understand and I said once more. "Don't worry about it, there should not be a problem."
As soon as we finished talking, the rest of the group came towards us and we went towards one of the square doors of the huge monolith. Once all of us were near, Anderson reached his hand out first and the rest of us followed, quickly being transferred to the first floor of [Solael's Castle]
[Noah Osmont[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 150]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 150]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-100)(F-Heal-43)(E-Arctic Armor- 100)(D-Flames of Torment-97)(D-Safeguard-31)(D-Danger Sense-95)(C-Arcanist's Sphere of Protection-93)(C-Camouflage-67)(C-Aura of Haste-23)(C-Explosive Rune-33)(C-Life Essence-22)(C-Increased Penetration-13)(C-Regeneration-1)(C-Whirlwind-1)]
[Equipment: (E-Swift Boots)(D-King's Valor)(C-Ring of Storage)]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 14 - Solael's Castle
It was not correct to even call this a floor of a dungeon, as it seemed like a world by itself. There was a huge expanse of trees all around us and on the horizon, a humongous castle was apparent, this was [Solael's Castle]
The castle was built in a medieval style and had a grand look that imposed itself on all that looked towards it. This castle housed more than a hundred C ranked monsters and a humongous titan that we would soon be facing.
Anderson began talking as we made our way towards the castle "When that door opens, we will be facing 10 C rank monsters. They are made up of extremely tough stone-like materials that need a very damaging skill to break. We will have to break through multiple rooms that hold these statue-like monsters in order to reach the boss in the main hall of the castle. I'll be covering Dina and Stacy" He pointed to the two women that were covered in robes. "And the two of you," He said pointing to the two hunters holding the huge shields, "Will cover Rachel and...Noah. I do not want any mistakes, be confident in your skills and attack to kill"
The rest of the group nodded in understanding and we were soon near the castle which opened its doors to show a large room where ten statues were standing still.
The moment that we entered, the statues that were three meters tall and had a golden shine opened their blank eyes and came towards us. The ten C ranked monsters spread out all over the room and rushed in with a semi-circular formation.
Anderson dashed in first with the two mages following not far behind him heading towards the right, already casting their spells. The two tanks nodded at me and Rachel and went towards the other side, quickly colliding with the huge statues.
Everyone here was fairly knowledgeable, so skills quickly went off and flew towards the statues in sparkling shades of colors. I cast [Flames of Torment] and formed it into a circular disk that I threw at one of the statues. Instantly smashing the head
Rachel, the berserker that was standing by my side Instantly disappeared and drew the sword she had on her waist, which was now showing a dark red color that instantly went to split apart another statue.
On Anderson's side, I don't know exactly how he did it but three of the statues were already broken and lying on the ground as shattered stones.
The Mages behind him had both cast a spell that quickly formed a dark thundercloud that spewed down light which struck down on the heads of the remaining two statues and took them down as well.
On our side, we had three statues still alive as the tanks were holding them off, knocking them back with their Shields as they neared. Rachel stood at a distance and then slashed her sword horizontally. The sword let out a blinding light that struck and destroyed two statues, quickly giving more breathing room for the two tanks.
I controlled [Flames of Torment] and quickly smashed the head of the remaining statue. It was just the beginning, but the teamwork seemed to be fairly solid. This was only the first room that we had to pass in this castle before we even came close to the huge Titan that would be facing.
After the room was cleared, everyone besides Anderson sat down and closed their eyes, most likely recovering their energy. I followed their lead and acted as if I had also spent a significant amount of energy to cast [Flames of Torment] repeatedly.
During this time, I activated skills that did not show on my body as I was pretty sure a significant amount of time in this dungeon would be the recovery time between the castle rooms. I activated [Aura of Haste] along with [Life essence, which shone two colors on my body that soon faded. I also cast regeneration even though I had no injuries just to test its effects. A feeling like I had just received the best massage flowed over me as the tension in my body was quickly released
This was probably the last possible use anyone thought this high ranked skill that required a high cost of energy would be used for. I was surprised at its effect as I had never been injured and didn't plan to be anytime in the future. Safety first.
After about 10 minutes, most of the group had gotten up and we were ready to move on to the next room. This one held an extra statue, bringing the numbers up to 11. The same strategy repeated.
I observed Anderson using a skill this time around, as he swung his sword and an arc of lightning flew out, smashing onto and destroying three statues right away. His rank was not for show. The mages by his side cast the same skill that blasted down lightning, quickly taking other statues down as well.
The teamwork was becoming even smoother for our group. As the two tanks in front of us stopped any statues from getting near us while Rachel moved in and out with her sword, occasionally throwing a curved blade of light that smashed onto the statues. I kept the [Flames of Torment] versatile, as it shifted from a rapidly spinning disc of flames to a tight cable that wrapped around the statue's head until it exploded
The tanks occasionally had lights shining on them or transparent shields appearing whenever they were taking hits from the statues, always making sure to stand their ground and not be pushed back.
After we cleared about five rooms and we were resting again, Rachel approached me and spoke. "Your handling of skills seems to be very precise, but I've never heard of you since I came to Outer Bank X, did you also recently move into the city?"
I gave a smile as I replied. "No. I have been here all this time, I just awakened recently."
This was information that anyone could easily dig up on me if they put the time in, so I wasn't worried about sharing it.
She seemed surprised and asked. "Really? Then you must have awakened a fairly powerful inherent skill"
I gave a smile and I didn't reply.
A few hours slowly passed like this. We were clearing many of the rooms in the castle to move forward, with the numbers of the statues increasing by a one after each room
In our tenth room. We're facing 19 statues which made things much harder. A few of the statues broke away from the defense of the two tanks with a huge shield and ran towards me. I acted quickly to cast flames of torment and swung the line of flames as if it was a huge baseball bat to push them away. Rachel dashed back a few seconds later to finish them off.
There were a few injuries, but no casualties. On Anderson's side, he protected the Mages fairly well while moving in and out and pushing back any statues who were trying to breakthrough
The rooms after this kept a constant number of 20 of these stone statues, taking a significant amount of time to clear while trying to prevent injuries as much as possible for the coming BOSS fight
After we cleared the 19th room, serious expressions arose on Anderson and his original party members' faces. The path out of this room led to a large hallway that had a golden door at the end of it. We would now be facing the BOSS of [Solael's Castle]. This BOSS was somewhat special though, as he would not be alone. He had 10 of these statues standing guards around him
This was the point in time where many people failed if there wasn't a powerful enough person to hold the BOSS back as other members quickly took down the guards and then joined in to help the top hunter quickly finish off the boss.
Anderson called everyone together and gave me a piercing look as usual. I had been getting that look every time he observed the fights throughout the past few hours. I've been hiding literally almost all of my skills, only using [Flames of Torment] to destroy the statues that came our way, so I shouldn't have given anything away
He seemed to become less angry at me as time went, and just adopted the disdainful expression more and more. I didn't bother with it as it was always good to be underestimated and not be on guard against
He began speaking when we came close "I will be holding the boss back and make sure that it doesn't break free. The rest of you need to take down its 10 guards as soon as possible and then reinforce me." He turned to the 2 tanks and continued.
"You guys need to do your best to protect the mages and Rachel. Make sure that nobody gets heavily injured as we all need to be in our prime to take down the boss."
The tanks nodded their heads while the rest of us prepared for the fight. I was looking forward to meeting this Titan of a boss that had taken down many hunters
As soon as everyone had their energy recovered, we went towards the huge door and stepped into the BOSS room.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 15 - Solael's Castle II
Anderson observed the people behind him before he opened the door towards the boss room. Almost all of them had faces that showed their dependence on him because they knew their lives were in his hands the moment that they entered this room.
But as usual, there was one person, one face that seemed to be overly calm with nothing to worry about. Anderson let out a vicious smile before opening the door and heading inside the BOSS room
He would show them all today. What strength really is. What power really is. In the face of strength, everything else has to bow down.
The inside of the gigantic room held a huge statue that was reaching almost 10 meters tall. They seemed like ants compared to something this huge, but Anderson had a confident expression on his face. He had done this multiple times in the span of a few months. Not a single time had he died. A few others had died, of course. But that was out of their negligence. You had to be strong in order to avoid death.
Surrounding a huge titan were it's ten guards who seemed just as imposing but only four meters tall, and they were still double the size of the hunters that were about to face them.
Anderson pulled out his sword as he began walking towards the huge statue that did not in any way take him into account.
Halfway there his body shone with an imposing red glow. [Giants Strength] was activated. The only B rank skill floating around Outer Bank X, and the skill that allowed him to go toe-to-toe with this huge titan. He grabbed his sword and he swung it towards the TITAN
A red crescent blade that was two meters tall struck out and hit the chest of the statue, instantly calling to attention it's ten guards and disrupting the peace in the hall. Anderson ignored the ten guards as he rushed forward to continue attacking the giant statue
The two tanks that were equipped with extremely large shields, along with the two mages Dina and Stacy, and Rachel had all begun to cast their spells. The tanks reinforced themselves as the guard statues came and attacked them.
The two Mages had already cast their spells as huge clouds that began releasing lightning as if it was endless. Rachel's sword was pulsating in a red light as multiple red blades were released from it, going forward to attack then coming statues.
As for Noah, He had cast the same skill that allowed him to move a huge cable of flames forward. The cable of flames quickly formed into a disc and shifted back and forth as it moved from one statue to another either taking their legs or their hands or completely smashing their heads.
Cohen was observing all of this as he continued to fight with the boss. He had observed all of his team members over the past weeks and he had been observing the new team members today.
The new girl was fairly strong but nothing to worry about. The only one he couldn't peg was Noah. He couldn't exactly see all the way through him. He wanted to believe that he was as weak as he showed himself to be but something very simple was giving him away. The fact that this entire time while going down this dungeon, going to each room and taking down huge statues of monsters, not a single time was he fl.u.s.tered or worried.
He showed no fear. No apprehension. To Cohen, this meant that this person is hiding more power, but he was not showing it. He wanted to see the extent of this guy's power.
The ten guards had lost their jobs as they were quickly taken down and transformed into rubble. The rest of the team soon came to reinforce Cohen in his fight against the ten-meter monster.
As soon as the tanks came in, Cohen moved back to get a breather. The two tanks worked together to deflect the punches that were barreling down as the mages cast their specialty spell and more dark clouds formed overhead with lightning striking down, chipping at the huge body of the TITAN
Blade edges were coming out of Rachel's sword as she continued to release the red crescent blinding lights. Noah's skill was more straightforward where his rapidly spinning disk of flames had been borrowing itself onto the knees of the huge beast trying to quickly cut off its legs and make it lose mobility.
He would not succeed though. As the TITAN was quickly enraged by the continuing damage that it was taking, and the fact that none of the ants that were dealing it damage were taken care of.
OOOOH!!!
A loud roar resounded from the Titan as Cohen yelled "Take cover!"
The mages ran behind the tanks who lifted their shields up while the TITAN was roaring. Cohen went towards Rachel and Noah and stood in front of them as the whole place seemed to shake as huge boulders then began falling from the ceiling.
This was the Titans skill. A type of skill that only began appearing on rank C BOSSes and above. At the moment it was dealt a certain amount of damage, the skill was activated and boulders would begin raining from the sky.
If you were slow in responding for even a second. You would find yourself squashed on the ground.
The stones began falling down and heavily hitting the ground. The 2 tanks had their shields lifted up slanted at an angle. Whenever the stones hit the skills on their body shined and they grunted, but they survived. The two mages beneath them were still safe and sound.
As for Anderson, he was even more straightforward, keeping his eyes on the ceiling and using his blade to strike down any incoming stones. If he missed any of the boulders fallen from the ceiling, Rachel would quickly move in and release another one of her plate lights, striking the huge stones and veering them away from their location.
Noah as a mage should be taking cover with his weaker defenses, and could only have his skill ready to be fired in the case any stone were to come his way.
As the huge stones fell down with everyone focusing on keeping their lives, Anderson turned towards Noah as there was something we wanted to confirm. He wanted to know the extent of this guy's power and what exactly he was hiding.
The TITAN's skill was about to finish, and three more boulders that were heading their way. Anderson put on a fierce expression as his sword struck out towards the incoming stones.
Rachel took care of the second stone and Noah cast his spinning line of flames towards the third stone that was nearing his side
At this instant, though, an...accident occurred. The stone that Cohen was taking care of did not break and veered off-track. He made a sound as if he had slipped and his blade just quickly grazed over the boulder that was coming down. The boulder that was now coincidentally heading towards the mage beside him
Noah returned his face up in the direction of the boulder with a surprised face as it quickly struck him.
PAH!
The sound caused the party members' faces to turn ashen. The two tanks and two mages off by the side quickly turning around to look at Cohen with an unbelievable expression
Rachel had an expression of disbelief on her face as well as she stared at Anderson and looked over the rubble where Noah was supposed to be.
A brief second passed before a movement was heard and a person came out of the rubble. The sight they feared to see did not actually happen, as the hands there were reaching out to push the rubble of the stones aside were clear. His face was clear. There wasn't a single spec of damage on the man's body.
The four party members quickly let out a relieved sigh and returned their sight towards the boss, as they couldn't spare a single other second with their eyes off the huge monster
Cohen spared Noah a glance before he quickly turned around and dashed towards the boss.
The disbelieving expression did not leave Rachel's face as she was very close and saw exactly what happened. There had been no accident, and that was all intentional. So, she was shocked and didn't understand. Just what sort of irreconcilable problem had occurred between these two hunters that would cause something like this?
Noah was coming out of the rubble with a surprisingly calm expression and dusted himself off as he looked at Anderson that was rushing towards the boss.
How was he taking this so naturally? Did he not almost die? Rachel had a complex expression on her face as she shook her head and focused on the fight at hand.
The two tanks were quickly blown away and Anderson filled in their spots to hold the boss at bay. The Thunderclouds from the mages were above them again, constant streaks of lightning striking down on the body of the TITAN
Rachel held her Blade behind her as a blinding light was becoming more and more apparent on her sword. This continued on for 10 seconds before she released the blade of light, that was not more than 2 meters long towards the leg of the BOSS. Noah was not far behind, quickly throwing his signature disk of flames towards the same location he was attacking before.
With this teamwork, it didn't take long for one of the legs of the huge statue to start cracking before it could not support its entire weight. Its left leg had shattered from the constant damage that was being dealt
Its upper body had huge dents and scratches from the lightning that was falling down and the blade attacks that Anderson kept sending its way. The huge TITAN quickly fell on its knees, Its hands smacking on the ground and sending a shock wave that disoriented the party members.
The two mages were quickly knocked back from the blast as the tanks were not there in time to prevent the blast from reaching them. Rachel and Anderson seemed fairly okay and surprisingly, so was Noah.
The TITAN guided its right hand that had fallen down, formed a huge fist, and swiped towards the puny ants around it. This attack would take out all the party members if it was not stopped.
Cohen had his face in a twisted expression as he began to feed more anger to bubble inside of him. This was good. This was what he wanted. The angrier he was, the stronger he became. That was the inherent skill that he awakened. Wrathful.
It fed on his anger. The angrier he got, the more energy he had, the more power he had, and the more destructive he became. He wanted to show these people just what true strength was.
He reactivated his highest skill that took most of his energy as his anger kept on rising. [Giant's Strength] was activated once more. A dark, baleful energy was permeating from his body as he grabbed his sword and rushed towards the incoming fist.
BOOM!
A resounding sound was heard as the fist was stopped on its tracks, causing the titan to scream once more. Anderson kept the momentum going, using his increased anger as a source of fuel and propelled himself towards the face of the ten-meter monster that was now crouching down.
The red energy released from his body mixed with the lightning that began appearing on his blade. [Blade of Lightning] was activated, its color quickly becoming tinged red and forcefully smacking on the head of the kneeling TITAN
BOOOM!!!
After the sound that almost ruptured the hunter's eardrums disappeared, half the head of the BOSS went with it. The TITAN breathed its last as it's huge body crumbled to the ground, the force holding it together thoroughly gone.
Cohen Anderson stood atop the rubble releasing a pulsating red light. He looked down at the hunters staring at him as his blade released the last sparks of lightning. This was strength. This was the power that allowed him to do whatever he wanted. This was what he wanted these hunters to have ingrained in their minds.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 16 - Deterioration
Anderson was standing majestically, atop the rubble as his skills effects finished. A green crystal was rising up as the boss had been killed and he walked down to observe the expressions that he had wanted to see so badly. The expressions of fear and reverence from the people below him
He saw these usual expressions on his old party members, and turned his gaze towards the two new ones.
As soon as he looked over though, a piercing voice rang throughout the destroyed hall. "What the hell were you doing? Why did you play around and almost kill your teammate?" Rachel, the berserker that was shooting blade lights all this time had a questioning look on her face as she directly asked this question.
Anderson seemed to be surprised as if he did not expect this type of reaction at all. He looked over at Rachel in a skeptical tone and asked her. "Oh? What's giving you the balls to talk to me like that? Were you watching the same scene as everyone else?"
Rachel defiantly replied with "Why the hell does that matter? I'm asking you, the leader of this party, why you would purposefully act negligent and try to harm your party member when you were in the position to protect them. How can they feel comfortable to hunt with you again? You've lost all trust, starting with me"
An incredulous expression arose on Anderson's face as something seemed to have clicked in his mind. He gave a loud laugh as he spoke. "My goodness. I am so sorry. I seem to have not gotten my point through. If it wasn't extremely clear from my actions and from my words, I don't give a damn." Anderson finished with these words in a condescending tone.
Rachel didn't stand down as she continued. "So what? Because you have a higher rank skill and are more powerful than us, that means you can choose to do whatever you want? You would endanger your party members just to get your point across? For what?"
Anderson was startled once again and said. "For what? For what? How dense are you for the message to not be coming across? Party members? Trust? Haha!" He looked towards the four Hunter's that had been clearing the dungeon with him these past weeks "Do you see them? They have families here. They have friends here. This is their city, and they have nowhere else to go. Do you think anyone cares about this city? Do you think the big wigs care what happens to a trashy city around the perimeter of the Empire?"
His words were becoming louder and more piercing as he kept on talking while walking towards Rachel. He continued with a cold tone" It's me. I am the only one keeping this city afloat. I am the only one that gives a damn and stays here. I prevent the dungeon break of this dungeon that you can never clear without me. It is my strength. And because of this, I can do what I want. I can call them" He pointed at his party members once more
"I can call them fools right now, and they will be back with me right in this same place in a few days giving their lives to clear this dungeon. You may have only been in this city for a week, but you should learn now than later about how things really work. You should know how to talk to people that stand above you." As he finished these words, he had reached Rachel, who still staring at him with a defiant expression
His anger was near his peak, allowing his skill {INHERENT-WRATHFUL} to provide him with even more strength. He moved at a quick speed, and a loud smack was heard, with Rachel smashing on the floor a second after.
A large hand mark laid across her face. She touched her cheek in a dazed expression as if this was the last thing she ever expected to happen. She looked at the four that were recuperating the side, and all of them turned their heads away
Anderson walked up to her, clasping her clear neck in his hands and asked. "Do you realize it now? When I say I can do whatever I want? You cannot do anything to stop it" He said as he lifted her up by her neck.
"They cannot do anything to stop it." He continued while pointing at his old party members. "And he...certainly cannot do anything to stop it" His hand moved once more as he pointed towards Noah
The person in question being pointed at had a surprised expression as he let out a soft sigh and said. "Let the girl go dude. What the hell is wrong with you?"
He had been watching the scene in front of him play out being ever so surprised as the events unfolded. He didn't care when Anderson supposedly had his 'accidental' slip up that he easily brushed off by activating [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection]. He didn't care when he was talked on upon. What he didn't like were the arrogant words coming from him, and worst of all the beating he had given someone who stood up to him
He was happy at the thought that the first party hunt he was in just finished successfully and he could use his experiences here to dive into this dungeon in the future. But this guy just had to go and ruin it. So he repeated himself again and said "Let the girl go."
Another loud laughter was heard in the clearing as Anderson pushed the girl aside. And looked towards Noah. He looked him up and down and said "This entire time I've been trying to figure out exactly where the level of your power stands. I was not thinking correctly just keeping tabs on you and feeling you out little by little. I should have done what I'm about to do now a long time ago. Do you have an inkling of what I'm about to do right now?"
Noah looked at the man that was gradually getting red color on his body back again and calmly replied "No. I don't know. What exactly are you about to do?"
Anderson had a cold smirk as he said, "I am about to teach you the rankings of the city. I am about to let you know that I am on top and you are on the bottom. I'm going to teach you what strength really is. Because apparently, watching me take down a ten meter tall giant was not intimidating enough."
As Noah listened to the enraged mad man's speech. He turned his head towards his team members. There were two fully grown men that were the Knights on the party and the two women that were the mages. He looked over to them and asked "Are you guys going to do or say anything about this?"
The four of them gave him a blank stare before they shook their heads in a depressing manner and turned their faces away.
Noah shook his head as he saw this and he looked back towards Anderson who was speaking with a fully furious expression.
"Haha. I have been talking too much. Words were never my forte. I always let my strength do the talking. After my strength was registered, everybody fell in line. Now, be prepared, because you...are about to fall in line." A hazy red smoke was coming off Anderson's body as he finished, tightened his muscles, and sprung forth
I looked at the man that was flying towards me and sighed at the complete breakdown of everything. I then casted [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection, [Aura of Haste, [Life Essence, [Increased Penetration, [Arctic Armor] and...[Whirlwind].
My body shone iridescent colors as multiple defense and support skills were activated. I looked at Anderson and I was surprisingly calm facing him. I didn't feel angry at him or hate him in any sort of way, I just...pitied him. Maybe this was what happened after facing the pressures of this new world and not coping well. I did not want to become someone like him in the future. My gaze seemed to have made the charging bull even more furious though, as his power seemed to increase further. But...none of it would be of any use against the current me. With a sad sigh, gales of wind surrounded my body as [Whirlwind] was fully activated and I made my move.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 17 - Fight!
A thunderous impact resounded soon after as gales of wind rushed about in the clearing. Anderson was surprised at the speed that Noah rushed to him, observing that he had already cast multiple skills on his body, his exterior surrounded by a transparent bubble and body covered in an icy armor He couldn't help but ask "Just how much energy do you have in your body to be casting this many skills as if it's nothing?"
As Anderson was talking, the impact pushed both of them back. The red energy kept on enveloping Anderson's body as his rank C skill [Blast] was used. His fist carried the momentum with it as he flew towards Noah. The fist met the first layer of protection, quickly causing a shock wave that pushed each of them away once more.
Anderson kept his eyes on Noah as he saw the man was not ever remotely hurt. He smiled as he dashed in again and began talking "Do you know why I adopted my principles on strength? I used to be poor. I had nothing, no job, no family, no friends. I used to look up at those that were rich above me with their extravagant amount of money and the clothes and food they bought."
His words carried traces of anger as his body continued clashing with Noah's defensive skills. The thing that puzzled him the most was how Noah chose to use his hands or palm to hit back when the transparent shield he cast on himself protected him fully, and did not even cast the signature pillar of flames he had seen him using throughout the day
He brought his focus back on the fight at hand and stopped overthinking things. "I looked up to these people. Those rich assholes. I wanted to be like them. I kept on saying to myself, If I just had that money, If I just had that power, oh the things I could do!"
Anderson continued smacking into the defensive skill and saw that his attacks with his bare hands weren't working. So he increased the pressure and pulled out his sword. He wanted to see just how long this guy could keep all of these skills active before running out of energy.
Lightning began to crackle around his sword as he dashed towards Noah and continued talking. "Do you know what happened next? Something incredible occurred and I actually did get the power. The whole world went to shit and it was me who received the power. ME!" The longer he talked, the more his anger and power seemed to increase.
His sword was already pulled down, swiping towards the pest in front of him. An ark of red lightning was released towards the man that kept on standing calmly in the face of all these attacks
ZING!
Once the red lightning struck a figure flew backwards at a high speed and kicked up some dust. And yet, he soon stood up without a single hair damaged on his body.
Anderson watched as his smile grew wider. It was the right choice to knock this guy down a notch now, If I had actually given him time to grow, he might have threatened me in the future. Playing around with his thoughts, he moved forward again as he continued talking "So, I received the power. And do you know the funny thing? Those people I looked up to, those rich assholes that I aspired to be, many of them were dead within a few days and many more were now looking up at me."
Seeing that his strike hadn't worked, he held his blade once more as lightning began to build upon it and continued "I used the new power that I had gained to kill monsters and get stronger. My power allowed me to become the richest man in the city. The best hunter in the city. It gave me strength that you could not imagine!"
Anderson was moving at high speeds as he spoke. His sword that was covered in lightning kept on striking at the bubble of protection that surrounded Noah
"It is this strength that's going to destroy that thin bubble that you have around you. I'm going to keep on striking and watch as you gradually lose that annoying expression on your face and you start begging for your life underneath my feet"
Noah wasn't standing still, moving in and out as his defensive skills completely deflected the strikes of the blade and the lightning that came out of it. He wanted to test the extent of [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] as its proficiency was literally a point shy of 100, and it seemed to completely protect him from C rank skills, its power also deflecting most of the damage from rank B skills
If any damage actually managed to pass through, the [Arctic Armor] would absorb it. If anything else passed that, he would just quickly use [Regeneration].
Anderson's voice rang out as he charged forward once more "You cannot imagine the things you can do when you have the strength. Those rich big wigs that survived, the ones that spent the remaining amount of their money to buy skills, items, and cores to get stronger themselves? They work under me now. They do me favors, and they send their own f.u.c.k.i.n.g daughters to my bedroom just to get on my good side. That is power, that is strength!"
Noah seemed to be getting ticked off as he was listening to this madman's ramblings so he began replying and cut short his experimentation time. "That is not what strength is, dude. I was just like you a few days ago. I didn't have any of this. When I did become slightly stronger though, all I felt was a sense of liberation."
His words seemed to carry power with him as a huge pillar of flames appeared beside him, making Anderson even more surprised as he was expecting him to run out of energy any time with his extremely bad efficiency in using it.
The pillars of flames acted like a rope, wrapping itself around the entirety of Anderson's body and squeezed down. Anderson let out a pained expression as he began roaring.
RAA!!!
Rank B skill, [Giant's Strength] was activated. The red aura coming out of him condensed even more as his power rose by another level, the sword clad in lightning struck out once more. But it did nothing.
His body bulged out as let out a howl and the pillar of flames surrounding him was dispersed and he once more seriously attacked the man in front of him. His attacks continued as Noah deflected or absorbed them and continued talking "Strength does not mean you can look down and others. Strength does not mean you can do whatever you want. You can even look at it as a responsibility. It's the reason I came along to this high-risk dungeon that can explode any day."
The calmness seemed to fade from Noah's face as he finished his words and condensed dark balls of fire around him. More than 20 quickly surrounded him, spinning furiously as they rushed towards Anderson's body and exploded on contact.
Anderson could be heard laughing in the midst of the explosion. "Haha, Responsibility? Sophistry! Utter bullshit!"
An expression of someone that had given up appeared on Noah's face as he shook his head calmly and looked at the imposing Anderson and gave a command
BOOM!
A screeching scream resounded as Anderson was inadvertently blasted back. He had a shocked face as he looked at the left hand on his body. It was missing. It was gone. Anderson looked back in a pained expression towards Noah as he exclaimed "What the hell did you do?!"
He seemed dumbfounded by the sudden attack that he didn't see coming from anywhere. They were standing apart at the time, and yet an unseen attack came that took his entire arm clean off.
A calm voice rang out of the clearing.
"Stand down."
Noah was staring at him with a cold expression. He did not want things to go down this road. He did not want it to get this bad, but this guy would not stop. So he repeated himself once more.
"Stand down"
The man that was clad in a red haze in front of him stood up with an even more furious expression as he roared out and held his sword and his remaining good arm, rushing forward once more.
BOOM!
Another exclusion rang out the moment Anderson began rushing out, being thrown back once more and his face adopting and even more pained expression. His chest armor had exploded out and blood was gushing from his chest. He breathed heavily as he looked towards Noah. He didn't understand how he was taking damage when the guy wasn't even near him. What was going on? What kind of skill was he using?!
Noah sternly stared at the man before he repeated himself once again. "Stand...down"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 18 - Resolution
Noah looked at the man in front of him as he continued speaking. "You could have stopped all of this a while ago you know"
He looked towards the man that was missing a hand and had a bloody chest. The entire time they were fighting, he had plastered a ton of [Explosive Rune]s on the man's body. The tattoos spread all over him without notice, and he had detonated two of them just now.
A burst of hysterical laughter came out from Anderson. "Stop? Stop? Haha! Do you really think I could stop? Power was all I had, and now someone like you, someone that has awakened barely a few days can already stand above me? Bullshit!"
Anderson's wounded body stood up and moved once more, his words that were dripping in anger had somehow given him even more power. The dark red haze that was constantly created from his inherent skill, {WRATHFUL} wrapped around him and became even more condensed. [Giants Strength] was also activated once more.
As the man stood and raised his one good remaining hand arcs of red lightning began to pulsate from his sword.
Noah turned his face from this and looked towards the five party members that had been watching this entire fight. He saw a rueful and expectant expression on the faces of Anderson's original party members. Rachel was staring at both of them in a distasteful manner while wiping the dust and rubble from her body
He then turned back towards the rushing Anderson and watched him come forward as if he was looking at a flickering flame in the wind. "Strength isn't having the power to look down on others."
As soon as Noah's words finished, another loud explosion rang out as Anderson's body was inexplicably blown away.
A crazed laugh could be heard as the explosion cleared "Haha. I am being lectured by a child. I am being lectured by someone who doesn't understand how the world works. Do you know what I've done with my power? The monsters I destroyed? The pathetic people I've killed? The women I've taken? Do you know?!"
The right leg on Anderson was the next limb to be missing as he lay tattered on the ground. He turned his head to observe his leg, and then at his left arm, that was also missing. He then stared at the man that kept looking at him with the same calm expression on his face. He felt like he was being looked down upon.
He had to bring his eyes up to meet the gaze of this man and he laughed even more. "Haha. What are you gonna do? Are you gonna kill the strongest hunter in the city? Are you going to damn the lives of hundreds of thousands of people?"
Noah was slowly walking towards the destroyed man as he began talking. "The strongest hunter in the city huh. Do you really believe that you still hold that title?"
His words were slow, but rang out as if they were a clap of lightning in Anderson's ears. Noah gave the man in front of him a look of pity as his hands wrapped around Anderson's neck. He looked at the man that was about to perish from this changed world forever and shook his head in disappointment.
BOOM!
A thundering explosion rang out on the clearing once more, and the infamous rank B hunter of Outer Bank X was lying down without a head.
Noah let out a deep sigh as he looked at the body of the so-called strongest hunter in front of him and felt relief. He didn't want to be like this man one day. Shouting his ideals on someone stronger only to die soon after
He deactivated the many defensive and support skills on his body as he shifted his face onto the items that Anderson wore. They were C rank equipment, and even though they were currently damaged because of [Explosive Rune, they had a self-repairing property and they would be as good as normal in a few days.
Near Anderson there laid a thick blue book. This was why hunters were regularly hunted down by other hunters if they were jealous enough and had the balls to do it. Killing any hunter had a definite chance of dropping the highest-ranked skill that they were using.
Unscrupulous lower-ranked hunters sometimes worked in groups that target those one rank higher than them, either ambushing them in their sleep through other unsavory means.
And this was also why the Hunter Lodgings were very popular because they guaranteed a level of safety for the hunters staying there. There were hunter guards around the clock doc.u.menting everyone that came in, where they were going and what their purpose was.
The skill book made my heartbeat increase as I thought of the huge windfall that all of these unfortunate events brought. This skill took the pedestal as the top prize today. This was the Rank B skill [Giant's Strength- Imbue your body with immense strength that blows away anything daring to stand against you(50 Strength)]. Information about the skill's effects quickly appeared in front of me as my mood turned sour
There wasn't any information about this skill as Anderson was the only one who held it, but I didn't expect it to simply add 50 strength once activated. Of course, 50 strength was something huge, as that amounted to an advancement of an entire rank, but it did not match the many focus based skills I had been collecting so far.
Skills that are geared towards close combat fighters would just reduce my attention from the powerful mage skills that I should be spamming.
My mood went down as I held the skill before another thought flashed through my mind and I had to ask myself if I was the dumbest person on the face of this planet.
Yes, Anderson was a close combat fighter and this skill complimented him perfectly. But, even though I was a Mage, it did not mean it wouldn't be tremendously helpful to me too. I was limiting my thoughts to what I commonly knew about Mages, Berserkers, and Knights. A skill like this would normally be great for a Knight or a Berserker. But I would literally lose nothing if I learned and activated this skill, and would instead gain an entire rank's worth of [Strength] attributes, and all times at that. Even though I wouldn't be using the extra power that the added strength provided, the extra speed that came with it would be more than worth it.
Damn, just when I was feeling myself and thinking I was all that, to think I was about to disregard a rank B skill just because it did not conventionally match my class. Alright, learn and try to be better.
This train of thought opened up my mind to many paths and skills I had not thought about before. There were many skills specifically for Knights and Berserkers that I didn't even look at as the only thing in my head was to just spam Mage skills to blow away everything. But if I searched for and learned those skills meant for close combat fighters that will reinforce my defense, health, speed, and power...
It was like a light was shining down on me opening up a very obvious path that my dumb ass hadn't thought about before. The cost of skills didn't matter to me, so why did it matter if they were not geared for my class as long as they provided constant benefits on other aspects? I did not waste any more time and I learned the skill, watching the book fade away in particles of light
I activated the skill as soon as it was learned so it could start earning proficiency. My body soon felt like I had an extra layer of strength added on, increasing my striking power and speed as well as giving me an imposing aura. I mentally patted myself on the back while I placed the [Item]s that Anderson was wearing in my storage ring, and carried his [Ring of Storage] with me, leaving a mangled body on the ground as I walked towards his team members.
The two tanks and mages had relieved expressions on their faces while Rachel looked at him in a peculiar way. Death wasn't something rare for hunters, they had seen plenty of their team members die and most were glad when they didn't perish themselves. He went forward and asked the girl that got a beating a few minutes ago "Are you okay?"
Rachel clicked her lips in an annoyed expression that also seemed somewhat afraid and looked back at the 4 party members behind her without answering my question. She looked at them and chided in a disappointed tone as she said "You four are by far the most spineless cowards and such a poor excuse of hunters that I had ever seen in my life"
The 4 hunters listened to this and shook their heads as if they would not engage. Did Anderson break them this much? They looked towards me and gave a nod before one of the tanks carefully came towards me and introduced him as Dan. He couldn't look me in the eyes as he gave me his card and mentioned that he and the rest of the party members would be back here in 3 days to clear the dungeon, and that I should let him know what time I'll be free to lead them
I unconsciously nodded as I had prepared to accept this role when everything fell apart with Anderson. Although I will only do this as a play for the next week. I didn't plan to be limited by tying myself to hunting in a party when my progress is explosive as I move alone and clear dungeons without anyone holding me back. My solo hunting of this dungeon would be much more fruitful
Rachel watched this exchange as we swapped contact information and watched the hunters go towards the green crystal to leave the dungeon. They instinctively looked towards the loot that was shining in a pile beside the TITAN that was now dead but looked away just as fast, not entertaining any thoughts
They didn't mention a single word about Anderson in the entire exchange or acknowledge what had happened. Just leaving with happier faces and expressions like a huge weight had just been lifted off their chest
Rachel came opposite me as I was thinking this and put on a brave expression as she said "So what the heck was up with you? You were stronger than this guy all along and were playing around just to be the knight in shining armor after?"
I was taken back when she said this as my mind was only observing the situation and acting only when I needed to. I replied to her with a smile "I became stronger than this guy just yesterday if you can believe it, and didn't exactly know how much stronger so I was testing the waters"
She clicked her tongue as she stared me down and then turned away towards the green crystal. "Thank you for stepping in any way, you're not too bad." She said as her figure flashed away, leaving me as the last hunter remaining for the this raid
I let out a relaxing sigh as I took in everything around me. Pushing the dead hunter in the room out of my mind, I went towards the shining pile of [Core]s and what seemed like a [Skill Book] besides the gigantic BOSS.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 19 - Changes
The dungeon didn't end exactly how I expected, but I was content with the way things worked. As all the hunters had left the boss room, I actually enjoyed the fact that there were fewer people around me, maybe I was just a natural loner.
I shook my head as I reached down towards the rank C cores lying down as boss. We had been splitting the cores into equal amounts as we killed the statues in the rooms until we arrived at the BOSS room, with Anderson taking most of the cores as he dealt with most of the statues.
All of the cores that he grabbed though, along with everything else he owned was now situated in my ring of storage.
I didn't feel particularly bad from taking everything from the dead man as my thoughts quickly moved forward to what I'll be doing next. I reached my hand out to identify the skill book that this C ranked TITAN dropped. Much to my surprise, it was a skill called [Smite- Pass down your ruling in the form of 10 swords of light!]
This skill gave me quite a shock as it wasn't among the many rank C skills that I have researched. I actually hadn't heard of this one before and the skill seemed to go very well with the guidelines I set for myself for the new skills I'll be learning.
So I quickly learned the skill as I was impatient to see its effects, even if it would just be for show right now as there were no monsters to test it out. And for the first time, I cast [Smite]
A marking quickly appeared on top of my head with a symbol that very closely matched that of a star. A golden light was then being released in the sky as 10 literal swords of light quickly took shape and pointed down imposingly. My eyes were shining as I watched them hover in the sky just waiting for a command to strike
I was very excited to see exactly how amazing the effects of this skill work out to be and I wanted to quickly rush into the dungeon again to test it out right away. But I knew I had to call it a day for now. It had been a long day, and I was finally not feeling pressed against time. I burned the sight of the dead TITAN and the dead hunter in my brain, and then I reached towards the green crystal, vanishing from the hall.A man wearing a well-tailored suit was watching the news with his arms trembling. Something shocking was being announced as breaking news. About an hour ago in Outer Bank X, the highest-ranked hero, Cohen Anderson, had perished in the dungeon [Solael's Castle]
In an effort to save the rest of his party members, he had given his life to take down the terrifying BOSS, making sure nobody else was injured.
The man listened to the news and stood there dazed, as this was something out of his wildest nightmares. Never something that he ever felt was possible. His benefactor, the person who saved him was now dead. And as for the things they were saying?
He had given up his life to save others? Haha! He knew his master, and knew even more his personality. The butler shook his head in sadness as the face of a man who had been in his mind these past few days popped up. He thought of this man and asked himself. Could he have had anything to do with this?
As he was lost in thought, the newscaster continued "As this highest-ranking hero passed, he passed on the torch to someone else just as powerful. Someone who will continue to keep the citizens of the city safe. The message received from the Outer Bank X City's Elite Hunter Squad is that their new leader goes by the name Noah Osmont"
The sudden announcement brought back the butler's attention to the TV, his eyes turning into cold slits as his theories were verified. So it was you all along.
Anger and sadness were bubbling in the butler's heart but he quickly pushed it down until all that was left was sadness. He recalled warning his master about this man because of the many things he did not know, but he failed his job. He didn't get the point across well enough and his master paid dearly for it. He wasn't making the same mistake.
The butler walked towards the huge doors at the mansion that he had kept open, waiting for his master. But he knew that he was not coming back. And yet he still stood in the middle of the open doors, waiting for no one, waiting for nothing.Noah carried his tired body over to the nearest Hunter Lodging as soon as he left [Solael's Dungeon] He wasn't really tired physically, he just felt mentally drained. Many events had occurred today, and as calm as he was there were still things that he did for the first time.
Besides the abnormally more numerous than average looks he was receiving as he walked through the luxurious hotel, nothing else seemed out of place. He did his usual ritual of grabbing a room and ordering food. As he was eating, he turned on the TV and almost choked on his food when he saw what was being reported. It was a local channel breaking the news for Outer Bank X
A glowing red title was saying that the highest-ranking hero in the city was now dead.
The things Noah heard baffled him to say least. Cohen Anderson had sacrificed himself, he had boldly taken on the boss that was endangering his teammates' lives and used all of his power until his last breath before he passed on the torch to...Noah Osmont.
Oh, come on! Noah, let out an exasperated sigh as he saw his name and picture paraded in front of the TV. He reigned in the rest of his thoughts as he continued to watch the news before agreeing with the way that Anderson's party members finished things. It was much better to let the public know this version of the story than telling them that one of the hunters just killed the other.
The officials had kept the information short and precise, one hunter was dead and another one just as powerful, if not more, took his place. There was nothing to worry about. No problems would occur. Everything is just as it was before.
A smile formed on Noah's lips as he thought of this. No. Everything was not how it used to be. Because that rank C dungeon that had given hunters so much trouble...he was about to turn it into his playground. He was planning on clearing it by himself multiple times for the next few days as most of his reservations were reduced when he confirmed his own power against Anderson.
Of course, he wouldn't suddenly make stupid decisions that could endanger his life, but he definitely had more legroom to take risks. Bigger risks gave bigger rewards. The risk he had to take these next few days is going to be watching the monolith of [Solael's Dungeon] turn from orange to blue as he cleared the dungeon multiple times, and what reactions that would receive from the powerful figures in the city, but even more so for the actual powerful figures hiding in larger cities
He wanted to take down the ten-meter giant TITAN all by himself. He wanted his strength to continue rising and his range of skills to continue expanding. He wouldn't limit himself as much anymore.
[Noah Osmont[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 15030]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 15050]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-100)(F-Heal-53)(E-Arctic Armor- 100)(D-Flames of Torment-99)(D-Safeguard-38)(D-Danger Sense-99)(C-Arcanist's Sphere of Protection-99)(C-Camouflage-77)(C-Aura of Haste-54)(C-Explosive Rune-61)(C-Life Essence-51)(C-Increased Penetration-44) (C-Regeneration-11) (C-Whirlwind-13) (C-Smite-1) (B-Giant's Strength-8)]
[Equipment: (E-Swift Boots)(D-King's Valor)(C-Ring of Storage)]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 20 - Movements
I was up fairly early the next morning as I was too excited to try out a multitude of things today. There were so many ideas flowing in mind that I didn't know what to start with. I looked at the dark-haired man in the mirror as my thoughts were inexplicably taken back a few years into the prime of my 20s.
The man in the mirror definitely looked like me a few years back, a head full of messy hair, the same fair complexion, and eyes full of hopes and dreams that weren't completely destroyed. I shook myself out of the trance as I started the day
I began by checking the [Ring of Storage] that I had taken of Anderson's hands. In it were a multitude of [Core]s, [Item]s, and 2 [Skill Book]s. I was extremely content with the finding as a majority of the cores were rank C, with 8 rank D items and 2 items that were rank C, [Lightning Boots, and [Fiery Helm]. The two skill books were also both rank C, being [Resilience: Defense and healing effects are increased by 50%] and [Supercharged- Energy rumbles through you, increasing casting speed by 50%]
The [Supercharged] skill would have definitely fit the criteria I had set a few days ago, but [Resilience] would also be a great addition that goes along with my current plan of even learning skills geared towards other jobs besides Mage
The rank D items would all be getting sold, along with a few rank C pieces that I wouldn't be wearing as I waited for the [Item]s that I took off Anderson's body to self-repair. I damaged them pretty heavily with [Explosive Rune, but they should be fully repaired by tomorrow
As for the [Core]s, anything below rank C found in the ring would be sold, and I began absorbing the rank C [Vitality] and [Strength] cores. I had both the ones that went as my share plus Anderson's, so it was a sizable amount, but I was only able to bring [Strength] to 167 and [Vitality] to 170.
With these preliminary things completed, I checked out of the room and shot a text to that lovable fat salesman I never bothered to remember the name of as I went to the central Awakened Center.
My face had been shown around heavily throughout the night so many people recognized me and snapped pictures, but I ignored everything and arrived at the Awakened Center in a few minutes
The fat salesman seemed to have been promoted, as he had two assistants with him when he saw me walk in. He threw out that usual shrewd smile and brought me to a more luxurious room in the back compared to last time
I took everything in a stride as the moment my name was released last night, I knew something like this would be happening. The first thing the salesman did was open a suitcase and hand me a shining blue card that held my name and picture, along with a title of Rank B Hunter
I grabbed it and gave my thanks as it saved me the hassle of looking for the advancement area and wasting time there. I then took out all the cores and items that I wanted to sell while I asked him for a registry of all Knight and Berserker skills they had in stock
He was puzzled at this but did as he was asked and I was browsing through all the skill books soon after. I had done a significant amount of research on Mages and their skills as that was the path I wanted to walk on when I awakened, but I wasn't too well versed on the skills that Knights and Berserkers commonly used
Keeping my explosive progress in mind, I looked at rank C skills mostly as well as some exceptional rank D skills that wouldn't be left far behind in their effects in a matter of weeks. A few fit my requirements, and I pointed them out to the salesman who brought them into the room in a few minutes.
The new skills I had bought and learned were [D-Rough Skin: Resistance to elemental skills are increased, [D-Fleeting: Slightly increases movement speed, [C-Gracefulness: An aura that grants you increased evasion descends, [C-Precision: Your accuracy is increased and your attacks rarely miss your target, and [Adamant: Your defense is increased as you passively heal from minor injuries]
These were the only skills that fit my new guidelines that were in the Awakened Center. The remaining skills actively required you to be using some sort of close combat or ranged weapon to activate like [Blade Light[Shield Charge, or [Duplicate Arrows]. It made me think of whether I should also buy a weapon to add these skills to my arsenal too without it spreading my focus over too many things. I was content with the new addition of skills and thanked the salesman that gave his usual bright smile.
I had much fewer reservations about being seen or discovered so I activated the new skills I just learned on top of all the old ones that were still active while I left the Awakened Center. I felt the increased strength of my body as my path was confirmed to be heading in the right direction
I was itching to dive into the dungeon right away as I hailed a ride towards [Solael's Castle]A man with a sharp face was finishing some paperwork when his assistant walked through his office doors with an even bigger stack of papers and folders. A grimace formed on the man's face as his rough voice came out. "How is the production and recruiting of rank B hunters proceeding?"
The assistant gave him a sweet smile as she replied "Very well boss. We have new ones come in every day and we are able to produce at least 1 rank B hunter a day from the resources they bring back from the dungeon"
The man nodded his head as he continued "Good, the plan is going in the right direction, but it needs to be accelerated. Reach out for even more hunters across the cities and entice as many as you can. We want this dungeon to continue to be cleared every day with even more hunting squads"
His assistant nodded her head as she put the folder in her hands on the table and then bowed with a smile "Here are the preliminary names we have gathered today that are waiting for your approval. For the Blessed Empire"
"For the Blessed Empire" The man replied with an impassive expression. He looked at the folder in front of him as he thought about the movements they had been seeing, and how unprepared they were for what was coming. There was a huge threat looming over them, and people still moved about in complete ignorance
He was in charge of managing the rank B Dungeon in Star City and wanted to exceed the quota set by the Admirals for its production. He wanted hunters to be entering it day and night, bringing out as many [Item]s, [Skill]s, and [Core]s that they could
He planned to write an official letter to the higher-ups and some colleagues to suggest they increase the urgency of this matter and actively move the empire's pieces for the days to come. The production of rank B hunters was coming along nicely but they would not be enough, the needed even more A rank hunters moving about in the empire
The face of Steel Mikhail passed through his mind as he considered all the new rising rank A hunters. He shook his head that was filled with worries as he looked at the figure of the assistant still waiting to be dismissed before him
He nodded at her and said while getting up and unbuttoning his shirt "Close the door. I've been cooped up in here for too long and need to release some stress"
The assistant smiled sweetly once more as she followed the command.
At the bottom of the folder that she had laid down, a name was written among many. Noah Osmont was clearly apparent at the bottom of the many stacks of paper.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 21 - Adrenaline
I was camouflaged as I looked up to the peak of the huge orange monolith that was [Solael's Castle]. I was planning on diving into this dungeon multiple times today, knowing that this orange hue will quickly change to blue and cause some unwanted attention to shift over here
But I wasn't worried too much currently. My strength could be considered great, and I didn't see another case like Anderson crazily appearing to bring me any issues.
I stopped thinking so much and looked forward to seeing how long I would clear this dungeon that took an 'Elite Hunter Squad' of this city more than half a day to go through. A dungeon with 1 floor holding a huge castle that had 20 extremely large rooms and 1 BOSS hall...I was looking forward to it!
I placed my hand on one of the squares of the monolith with bubbling enthusiasm as I was transferred to the plains that showed a castle on the horizon.
All the active skills were activated, making my body shine with an inordinate amount of colors. I also activated [Whirlwind] as gales of wind also began appearing around me, making me disappear from the spot I was standing just as I put some force on my feet
Haha!
I was propelled upwards for more than 10 meters as my figure breezed towards the castle. I couldn't help but let a laugh escape my lips as I fell towards the ground and rebounded only to be thrown forward even faster. I had to adapt to this crazy level of strength and speed that the skills and my increased attributes were giving me as I moved forward.
I couldn't control my descent from my last jump and managed to smash into the huge door of the castle, disrupting its serene peace and waking up the first 10 statues in the first room
I dashed towards them as if I was possessed and finally cast [Smite]! 10 golden swords of light appeared above me even faster than when I cast it the first time, hanging imposingly as they waited for my command
"Strike down!" I couldn't help myself as I said these words out loud and the 2-meter long golden sword barreled down towards the oncoming statues
BOOM!
A blinding light exploded out as the golden sword struck down the incoming statues, causing dust and rubble to fly about as I breathed heavily and watched the scene clear. Only stones were left shattered on the ground
Haha...Haha! I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it. In less than a second, all the rank C monsters were dead! I was even more confident while thinking about all the skills that enhanced my damage, cast and attack speed, as well as [Increased Penetration] that let me further ignore the defenses of monsters.
I felt the rush and adrenaline coursing through me as the room was completed in under a minute and pushed off from where I stood to head towards the large door to the next room.
I blasted in and saw the now 11 statues move about as another 10 golden blades appeared above me. They targeted the nearest 10 as I moved at high speeds and quickly appeared in front of the 11th, moving my hand around speedily as I plastered multiple [Explosive Rune]s on its body and commanded them to explode right in front of me
I loved watching the huge explosions occur when I was near and observed the huge impact blasting out the statue's body. The entire force was negated by the now 100 proficiency skill [Arcanist's Sphere of Protection] that wasn't really a sphere anymore and hugged my body as if it was another layer of skin
The room was once again cleared in a few seconds my breathing increased and I rushed into the 3rd room. 10 statues were quickly obliterated by another cast of [Smite] and I moved close to the remaining 2 statues and cast [Flames of Torment].
The long pillar of flames had a darker color after reaching 100, its flames coagulated together tightly as if they were a thick viscous material. It was rotating the moment I cast it in its long linear form, causing hot suffocating winds to fly out. I threw the thick cable of flames forward and they literally melted the statues the moment they came in contact
I stopped for a second to catch my breath as I just cleared 3 rooms out the 20 in under 5 minutes. A childish smile wouldn't leave my face as I continued on forward to the fourth.
The next rooms were cleared in a similar fashion, starting out with [Smite] and following with either [Explosive Rune] or [Flames of Torment]. Starting from the 10th room, I just cast another [Smite] the moment the first 10 statues were shattered by the first cast, finishing them in record time
I was now standing in front of the huge door that led to the BOSS room and I tried collecting myself as I impatiently went in. The TITAN was as humongous as usual, frighteningly boasting its 10-meter size. The 10 guards standing by its side couldn't even respond as 10 golden swords smashed into them the moment I entered
The huge beast opened its blank eyes the moment the guards were destroyed and began coming towards me, its huge steps causing the ground tremble. I watched the BOSS menacingly come towards me as 10 swords of light appear, then another 10, and another 10 as [Smite] was repeatedly cast three times
I commanded the first 10 to shoot towards the BOSS in a tight-nit circular formation. They smashed onto his chest, stopping his advance and pushing him back. The next 10 flew up one after another to repeatedly strike the same area I was focusing on the TITAN's head, blasting onto him and pushing him back even further. The last 10 flew in and surrounded the neck around a few meters away and rushed forward while it was still disoriented
Before it could even roar or do anything else, the 10 golden swords closed in on its neck from all directions
ZING!
The TITAN wobbled for a few seconds before a pillar of thick flames wrapped around the nearly destroyed neck and squeezed in, melting everything it came in contact with. Another second passed before a loud crash was heard in the huge hall. The TITAN's head now lay on the ground. Not even a minute had passed.
I watched this unbelievable scene in front of me as if it wasn't something that I had just done. The huge BOSS that needed an entire party to hunt had taken me less than a minute to take down
"AAAAH!!!"
I let out an embarrassingly loud triumphant howl after accepting the scene in front of me and reveled in it once more. Around 20 minutes total had passed and the castle was completely cleared. A green crystal rose as a shining pile of loot appeared beside the boss
From then on, I kept on repeating [Solael's Castle] like a madman. 8 hours later, I had impossibly cleared the dungeon more than 24 times, my clearing averaging 3 times in one hour.
At the end, I held in my storage rings a ton of rank C [Core]s, 15 rank C skills, 1 rank B skill, and 5 new [Item]s
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 22 - Explosive Growth
I was in love with this rank C dungeon. Only a single floor that held all the monsters in one place. Someone in my positions couldn't have asked for a better setting to quickly take everything down in record time and rake in an unimaginable amount of profit
I never thought a day would come where I would be able to collect this many rank C skills, and even lucky enough have a rank B skill drop along with a few items.
Hunter's had been clearing [Solael's Dungeon] twice a week, so over the span of the last few months they might have cleared it around the same time as I cleared it in one day. Just the thought of it made me amazed
My 2 storage rings had nearly filled up to the brim with the influx of [Core]s, [Skill]s, and [Item]s.
I was currently in the BOSS room of the dungeon where a broken TITAN lay dead while browsing through the rank C items first. There were two pairs of [Igneous Armor]s, one [Igneous Sword, [Fiery Helm, and [Fiery Boots]
All of them exactly the same as the equipment that Anderson wore, but I wouldn't have to wait before equipping these ones. The ones I had obtained from him were still repairing from the heavy explosions done by [Explosive Rune]
I changed from [Swift Boots] to [Fiery Boots] and equipped one of the armors and helm. The armor had a similar characteristic of being unnaturally flexible even though it seemed like it was made up of extremely strong stone materials. The helm on my head also made me look like some sort of gladiator, so I took it off for now and only planned to equip it when I was faced with enemies
The [Item]s vastly improved my defense and acted as another layer of resistance besides the many skills already active.
Next up were the abundant amount of skills, something I never thought I would be holding is such large quantities. These would cost millions if I were to sell them, but money wasn't the main thing I was after. I looked through the skills trying to find which ones were actually effective for me to learn and narrowed it down to 8
The rest were skills that either required bows or another specific weapon to activate or they were offensive skills with similar power to the ones I was currently using. I would learn as many supportive and defensive skills, but I would choose my main attacking skills with close scrutiny as those are the only ones I have to actively cast and use. If I held too many offensive skills and switched from to another when using, I would just have many skills in a similar level of power and not a few skills with high proficiency that have even more power
The 8 that I absorbed and learned were [Sharpen: Your attacks and skills deal more damage to your enemies, [War Cry: Motivate yourself and your allies, increasing attributes by 5%, [Retaliation: Reflect back some of the damage from your enemies, [King's Rage: The rage of a king flows through you, granting a boost in damage, [Military Tactics: The qualities of a fortified soldier are activated, increasing all attributes by 10, [Unpredictable: Attack and Casting speed increased by 10%, [Elemental Damage: Any attacks using the elements deal destructive damage, and [Stealth: Move undetected as all the energies you emit are absorbed]
Learning and activating the skills gave me another sense of exhilaration. [Military Tactics] that increased each of my attributes by 10 added the specified amount to [Vitality] and [Strength] while [Focus] remained as blank as usual
The rank B skill book that had been lucky enough to drop was [Stealth, which was such a great skill that it trumped everything else I gained today because of its high utility. Any colors or imposing airs released by the activated skills were all reigned in and I seemed like a normal human being without an ounce of strength.
I could also choose to blend into my surroundings to a similar effect like [Camouflage]. Adding these two skills together would just be a killer combination. I would keep [Stealth] active at all times and only activate [Camouflage] or use the blending in effect of [Stealth] when I really needed to
I didn't grasp the full strength of a full-fledged rank B hunter that held multiple rank B skills and items, but I felt like my strength was at the peak of B if not higher. I would make no conclusions before meeting hunters that I can test against though
My next move was to absorb the multitude of [Core]s filling up the two storage rings, there being more than enough to bring my attribute points to 200 after an hour of extensive absorbing
Feeling the packed strength of my body that had been increasing way too fast, I took a second to reminisce how it was barely just a week since I awakened. My body felt like it could explode with tremendous power any time I wished, giving me even more confidence on the path I was walking on
I rose up and touched the green crystal to leave the dungeon, looking back and seeing the dungeon monolith now having a color of light blue. [Solael's Castle] was now a low-risk dungeon that had no chance of a dungeon break occurring any time soon
Hunters that were stationed a distance away in shops and stalls quickly noticed the change a few hours ago and began discussing amongst themselves as to which peak hunter had come across their city
I didn't want to completely break their common sense with them seeing me enter the dungeon every 20 minutes, so I took off [Camouflage, while still keeping [Stealth] active and hiding the assortment of colors and armors around me from the skill effects every 2 hours for them to see a figure be transported out of the dungeon and diving back in right after
I was already renowned and didn't need to hide, but that didn't mean I shouldn't hide this unexplainable level of strength I held for the time being. I did want to build a reputation for myself from now on for future plans, but I would only show them a surface of what I could do
In the case another crazy hunter appeared in front of me, I had the confidence to completely take care of them if they were only expecting the level of strength I was showing
This was the last time I was leaving the dungeon today so I didn't use [Camouflage]. There were reporters and cameramen at a far distance carefully doc.u.menting the changes and pointing their cameras towards me
I tried not to react to any of it and took a ride from a nervous driver that was driving carefully at the speed limit while constantly looking back at me. I chuckled at this as we went towards the Pristine Residency lodging
I would visit the Awakened Center tomorrow morning to see if there was anything of value, but seeing as I was the person clearing the highest-ranked dungeon currently and holding onto all the loot, I doubted there would be anything fruitful
My next phase of plans was to...relax. It was only in the evening but I wanted to stop thinking for a bit, eat a whole lot of food and just sleep. I recalled the platters of shrimp and steaks that I had been eating the past few days and placed an order for 4 plates when I grabbed my room keys at Pristine Residency. Tonight would be a relaxing night.In Star City.
A man was looking at the profile of a hunter they had just received more news of a few hours ago. He was Vice Admiral Magnar. A decorated officer that stood at the front lines when monsters were running rampant and killing people left and right. He had risen to this rank because of his continuing hard work and planning while fighting for his country
His country that he was trying to save once more, he just needed people to stop shoving their heads up their asses and listen. His work and stress had been piling up recently as he was recruiting talent to dive into the rank B dungeon, [Mangrove Swamp]
They needed more production of [Core]s, [Skill]s, and [Item]s more badly than most people thought. He thought back to the report that described the huge threat that was congregating in one location not far from the empire and then focused once more on hunter in front of him
Noah Osmont. Active for around a week and already making waves. These were the types of people he needed. He quickly made a phone call to the contacts stationed in Outer Bank X and gave a message for them to deliver
[Noah Osmont[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 20040]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 20060]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-100)(F-Heal-53)(E-Arctic Armor- 100)(D-Flames of Torment-100)(D-Safeguard-38)(D-Danger Sense-100)(D-Rough Skin-23)(D-Fleeting-24)(C-Arcanist's Sphere of Protection-100) (C-Camouflage-83) (C-Aura of Haste-72)(C-Explosive Rune-81)(C-Life Essence-73)(C-Increased Penetration-58) (C-Regeneration-21) (C-Whirlwind-33) (C-Smite-28) (C-Gracefulness-21) (C-Precision-21) (C-Adamant-21)(C-Sharpen-4)*(C-War Cry-4)* (C-Retaliation-4)*(C-Kings Rage-4)*(C-Military Tactics-4)* (C-Unpredictable-4)* (C-Elemental Damage-4)*(B-Giant's Strength-27)(B-Stealth-3)]
[Equipment:(2x C-Ring of Storage)(C-Fiery Boots)*(C-Igneous Armor)*(C-Fiery Helm)]
New]
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 23 - An Invitation
The night passed by spectacularly as I binged on food and familiarized myself with my fast-expanding array of skills. There were many and I was increasing them at a very fast rate that doesn't seem like it would reduce any time soon
I went over every single one of the support skills to try and gain a better understanding of just how much they were increasing my damage output with my skills. I would get the chance to possibly observe this change more noticeably today after I use my offensive skills for the first time after adding 8 more new support skills in a day
I left the Pristine Residency while activating the full extent of [Stealth] so that I could avoid any unwanted attention as I made my way towards the awakened center. I browsed over the skills once more and as expected, nothing of value was there
I held many rank C skills currently that would make a ton of money if sold, but I was planning on holding onto them for now until I began making my way over to some of the inner cities of the Empire where it was possible to buy rank B skills. The knowledge spread over on hunting platforms mentioned that their prices ranged upwards of 10 million because of their high demands and very little supply
They were my next goal, as I could only obtain a rank B skill book at a very low chance with the rank c Dungeon I was currently clearing. Seeing nothing else catching my eye at the awakened center, I left for [Solael's Castle] right away
When I arrived at the huge monolith though, there was someone obviously out of place standing near it. It was a curvaceous woman in a tight business suit checking her watch as she waited for something
No hunters were cl.u.s.tered around [Solael's Castle] as normal rank C hunting squads didn't dare dive into the dungeon, so the only person she could be waiting for here was...me
I removed my stealth and appeared a few feet away, startling her from my sudden appearance. A bright smile bloomed on her face as if she had found the huge treasure she was looking for
"Hello Mr. Osmont, my name is Amelia Ross and I'm here on behalf of Vice Admiral Magnar of Star City"
Her words started off very normal but the end was explosive. I was immediately intrigued as Star City was one of the core defense cities in the Empire, with the government spreading its clutches in almost all industries and activities. Also, I had never come across any high titles such as Vice Admiral before
I replied back with a smile "What can I do for you?"
She nodded with a relieved expression and continued "I won't waste too much of your time Sir Hunter, so I will give the message I was instructed to for you to read at your leisure" A thin folder with papers appeared on her hands and she handed it to me, finishing her last words as she left hurriedly
"Oh, Mr. Osmont, many of the files in there are confidential, so we are counting on your discretion"
I nodded at these words and watched her get in a black sedan that quickly pulled away. A confidential file huh, what exactly do you contain?
The first paper was an introduction from the one known as Vice Admiral Magnar, and he kept things very much on point. He was hiring rank B hunters or higher to work with the government to raid the rank B dungeon, [Mangrove Swamp]. Half the loot would go towards the government as they provided you with money or anything else you wished for that they could provide
If you were patriotic enough and enlisted in the Empire's army, you would be in the first row of hunters who can select skills and items useful to them in their vast armory while also receiving the full benefits of the military
There were very few papers in the file, and the last one was the even more eye-catching one, with the entire paper only holding two sentences that made me very concerned
"This is highly confidential information that only the top hunters have available currently, please exercise great control. Enemies are heading towards the Blessed Empire that could cause the deaths of billions if we continue to be complacent."
Only 2 sentences, but they made me attach a much greater importance to this file. An enemy coming to attack the Empire? My mind's gears were turning as I wrapped my head around this new information and what I should do next. Who could it be? Was it beasts...or was a war approaching?
I was thinking for quite a while but nothing came to mind. I had too little information currently and needed to learn much more. I made some quick calculations and change of plans and shot a text towards the people I had dived into [Solael's Castle] with 2 days ago. The original plan was to dive with them once more before I began looking at ways to make them stronger and then make my way towards the inner cities of the Empire, but that would have to be accelerated.
When I finished that I placed the file with very troubling information that also held a contact number I would be calling by the end of the day in one of my storage rings and then went into the dungeon
I didn't forget to test the increased effectiveness of my offensive spells after the addition of [Sharpen, [War Cry, [Retaliation, [King's Rage, [Military Tactics, [Unpredictable, and [Elemental Damage]
The damage of all skills was boosted by quite a bit, with some of the qualities of the skills also improving. [Flames of Torment] now seemed like it was a coagulation of extremely long and thick heavy flames, the width of it becoming slightly larger. A single [Explosive Rune] was now effective to completely cover the huge head of the TITAN and cause it to explode right away. As for [Smite, the 10 golden blades of light became even larger, their handles even more distinct and edges even sharper
I continued my testing and experimentation of skills for the next 8 hours, clearing the dungeon more than 26 times and coming out around the time I texted the 5 people. It was already evening outside when I left the dungeon with my storage rings full. I was lucky enough to receive another rank B skill, meaning there around a 4% chance for it drop from the rank C TITAN of this dungeon as it was very similar to yesterday
More than 17 rank C skills came out this time around, with 6 items. It was two pairs of [Igneous Sword]s, [Igneous Armor, and [Fiery Boot]s. Of course, there were also a ton of cores after all the runs
The 5 that I texted were situated outside the monolith as I instructed, with Anderson's old party members reverentially looking towards me and Rachel standing there with the same confident expression.
They're some of the top hunters of this city, so when they heard that I was clearing the dungeon alone on the news they must have had an even better idea of what my level of power was then common hunters.
I was already spent from running around the past 8 hours and wanted to make it quick. "It doesn't seem like I'm going to be in Outer Bank X for much longer" I paused as I watched their expressions change to shock and concern before continuing
"So I'll be making sure that there is still a team that is able to clear this dungeon when I leave"
Relieved expressions returned but they still seemed concerned. I didn't bother explaining and took out the pairs of [Igneous Swords]s, [Igneous Armor, [Lightning Boots, and [Fiery Boot]s along with 22 rank C skill after putting aside 2 that I wanted to absorb later.
I had received 2 igneous armors and 1 sword yesterday, and then two more of each today. Removing the one I was wearing myself, there were 4 once you added the one that was taken from Anderson. I lied and said that I found most of the skill books and items in Anderson's storage ring
The two Knights and Rachel looked at me to make sure I wasn't joking before they went forward and grabbed an armor and sword each. The items weren't of much value to me, and I wanted to leave the city without any bad after-taste so I had to do this. This was just one of the consequences for taking down the previous rank B hunter of the city
I had Rachel take the [Fiery Boots] and Dan grab the [Lightning Boots, feeling bad for one of Mages that wast getting anything as there were only 4 armors, but they wouldn't be on the front lines for now. I then laid out the skills for them to choose any that fit them. Everyone was able to gain something this time around, and 15 rank C skills remained after they picked and absorbed the skills in front of me
Once this was done I took out the rank B skill that dropped today. [Enlightened Fervor: Build up the strength inside you and release it with a swing of your weapon]
I was thinking how I would set up a system where [Solael's Castle] could be cleared once I was gone, and the easiest answer would be to have a rank B hunter lead the team to clear it. One of the faster ways to do this was to have a hunter with stats nearing the peak of rank C and have them learn a rank B skill
I was struggling with myself this entire day while I was farming the dungeon on whether I would be able to let go of a rank B skill if it was something that fit well with my guidelines currently. Luckily, or unluckily, it was a skill on the far spectrum of Berserker skills that also required a weapon, so it made the decision much easier
I also understood that it would become even easier for me to gain rank B skills, whether that was by staying here and diving into [Solael's Castle] daily to get 1 a day or move towards an area that had a rank B dungeon for me to gain them even faster. So today, I'll be making someone a rank B hunter and have them dive into the dungeon
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 24 - An end, and a beginning
Of course, the person I was choosing to be the next rank B hunter in Outer Bank X was Rachel, the only person that ever showed a backbone among the hunters I met. She also unflinchingly questioned when she saw something wrong happening, and this was a type of naivety I could trust
She was shocked to receive the skill book and even more shocked when I told her that we'd be entering the dungeon as soon as they finished absorbing some rank C [Core]s. I had so many of these piled up in the last 2 days that a few 10s of millions could be made if I chose to sell them, and they should be more than enough to raise the attributes of these hunters to the peak of rank C
I took a few of the piles of [Core]s out of my storage and had the hunters absorb them. They jumped at them after I gave the go-ahead and soon brought their attributes to 200. I watched the sun go lower and lower while waiting for them to finish
When they were done, I let them know that we would be diving into the dungeon right now for me to just confirm Rachel's capabilities against the BOSS of the dungeon. They could easily take care of the statues appearing in the rooms of the castle with the equipment and new skills they just obtained, only the BOSS remained a mystery
The entire group was soon transferred into the familiar landscape that I had appeared in multiple times today. I led the way into the castle and told them all to conserve their energy for the BOSS fight and let me do all the work on the preliminary monsters
After the 10th room, I could already tune out the sounds of amazement as these hunters watched me take down monsters that they would spend a few minutes on in a matter of seconds. I briefly stopped here for 20 minutes with the excuse of recovering my energy as I didn't want to surprise them too much. I kept using [Smite] all the way through because of it's multiple enemy targeting attribute that took care of the increasing number of statues quickly.
I wasn't worried about them seeing me cast the rank C skill repeatedly, as higher-ranking hunters had enough reserves of energy to cast lower-ranking skills multiple times, and at most they would attribute it to some sort of inherent skill that increases my [Focus]. Before we opened the door into the hall where the BOSS lay, I wasted another 20 minutes with the excuse of recovering my energy just in case something went wrong, and then we entered the BOSS room
Rachel and the rest of them had been talking up strategies on the way here as they had nothing better to do, and already had a plan that used their new skills the best. The recently buffed up Knights went forward with their huge shield as they blocked the 10 guards that the 2 Mages then sniped with colorful lightning
Rachel went forward and stood against the boss, activating [Enlightened Fervor] and releasing powerful blasts with every swing of her sword that kept the BOSS at bay.
She was soon reinforced by the hunters that had taken down the guards, as the Knights focused on blocking the BOSS while Rachel and the two mages continued to damage it. It very quickly roared and boulders began falling from the ceiling, and the mages were quickly covered by the Knights while Rachel actually weaved through the falling stones and built up her power using [Enlightened Fervor, releasing a strike that blasted the already damaged head of the TITAN away
I was standing on the side watching everything, not even bothered when the boulders were falling as the moment they got in contact with my skin they were repelled away because of the defensive skills that were always activated
I clapped my hands as the team was cheering amongst each other and gave the new rank B hunter a thumbs up. She rushed over and gave me a tight hug, thanking me for all my help and wishing me well for where I was going. I pushed the rest of them away when they continued giving their heartfelt thanks and felt a load lifted off my chest.
The city I had been living in all this time would continue to be well even after I left it. I wasn't overly attached or anything like that, I just didn't want the place I had grown familiar with to be wiped off by a dungeon break that could have easily been taken care of.
With that out of the way, I parted ways with the hunters and I texted the contact number that was included in the file that I would be ready to head out for Star City tomorrow morning. A reply quickly came "That's great! We'll have a ride ready for you at 10 am. Thank you for your service!"
With this, I was at the end of my road for Outer Bank X City. I was feeling nostalgic as I walked through the busy streets of downtown while watching the throngs of people move about. Some hunters were celebrating successful dungeon dives by getting drinks, others were mourning the losses of their friends. Those that were unawakened had the same hopeful eyes as I did
Either they were too poor to buy a skill book to awaken, or they were working to save up enough money to do so. You also had the people that were waking up every day hoping to naturally awaken, and they would repeat this process for months.
I reached the old dilapidated apartment complex that I was living in and grabbed anything else of value that remained in one of my storage rings. I bought another one because of their high utility and now wore 3 rings on my right hand.
I looked at the dilapidated apartment as my emotions rose and I decided to sleep here for the first time in a while. I didn't have any worries about my life as I always had my defensive skills active, and I doubt anyone in the city would be reckless enough to try something like that. It was a split-second decision made from emotions, but I felt like it was a good one
I went into the kitchen, placed some water in a pot, and put it on high heat as I watched it boil. I then opened one of the creaking cabinets and pulled out a cup of ramen noodles. Mixing the two together, I soon had that familiar smell of food I haven't tried in quite a while wafting in my nose. I didn't wait for it to cool as I took a forkful in my mouth, not feeling the usual scalding pain when I ate it too quickly and only feeling a trace of warmth.
I thought back to every event this past week and the extreme change that had occurred from it. I still didn't know why I could do the things I do, but I would solve the mystery in time. The world had become a foreign place the moment dungeons, monsters, and hunters began appearing. Nobody thought such a thing would be possible in the past, neither did I think what happened to me to be remotely possible then
We adapted and survived. I looked out of my apartment into the dark streets outside as I swore to myself that I would continue to grow, and most definitely survive.
[Noah Osmont[Occupation: Hunter]
[Vitality: 20040]
[Focus: - ]
[Strength: 20060]
[Skill(s): (F-Fireball-100)(F-Heal-53)(E-Arctic Armor- 100)(D-Flames of Torment-100)(D-Safeguard-38)(D-Danger Sense-100)(D-Rough Skin-44)(D-Fleeting-45)(C-Arcanist's Sphere of Protection-100) (C-Camouflage-91) (C-Aura of Haste-88)(C-Explosive Rune-95)(C-Life Essence-89)(C-Increased Penetration-85) (C-Regeneration-38) (C-Whirlwind-54) (C-Smite-68) (C-Gracefulness-42) (C-Precision-42) (C-Adamant-42)(C-Sharpen-19)(C-War Cry-19) (C-Retaliation-19)(C-Kings Rage-19)(C-Military Tactics-19)(C-Unpredictable-19) (C-Elemental Damage-19)(B-Giant's Strength-43)(B-Stealth-17)]
[Equipment: (3x C-Ring of Storage)(C-Fiery Boots)(C-Igneous Armor)(C-Fiery Helm)]
END OF VOLUME 1
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 25 - Star City
Morning of the next day, I was in the back of a black sedan watching cars rush by as we went down a long road. When we left the roads of Outer Bank X city, we had to pass the only checkpoint for those leaving the city. The checkpoint was near the entrance to an old bridge that was the only road leading towards inner cities. To the left and right of the checkpoint was an expanding wall that circled around the entire city
It was mostly hunters or highly influential people that were able to move around in the empire. The two titles were actually interchangeable as no influential person chose to not awaken
The driver pulled out sparkling military credentials to the Hunter Guards standing by and we were soon driving away from the city. We went across the bridge when I looked back for the last time to see the city surrounded by a wall, not knowing if I would ever return
The scenery around us quickly changed to destroyed buildings and architectures as we saw guard posts every 10s of miles down the road. I couldn't imagine the job of these people that stood in The Barrens for days, only switching their shifts when someone else came to relieve them
The Barrens were the empty and destroyed lands that nobody was living in. You would only find roaches or rats, or mutated animals that were hungry enough to attack anything there. The only people who took the post as guards along these long roads leading from cities were people that had nothing in life and were offered an olive branch from the government
They were contracted to work for them after they were given the resources to awaken and had to follow the contract for a specified time. I felt sad thinking of the people that had no option but to resort to these kinds of work
We drove through The Barrens with no complication, passing other cities surrounded by walls throughout the day. The road got cleaner and cleaner as we went further inland and we saw guard posts more frequently, eventually leaving behind the dystopian Barrens and becoming exposed to a few green trees
The greenery kept on increasing as the hours passed and we were soon nearing a huge walled-off city in the distance. This city had a slightly taller wall surrounding it with huge convoys of military trucks moving in and out
It was definitely much more bustling than the cities I've seen on the way here. We were able to get inside after the driver flashed his papers on the guard's face in an annoyed tone as the process was much more thorough this time around
The inside of the city...was filled with lights. It had taken the entire day to get here, and after the time it took for us to bypass the gates night had already arrived. I was able to see the city come to life with countless lights shining into the night.
We had arrived at Star City.
The streets were so clean with huge buildings pointing to the sky all around us. It was a stark contrast to the destroyed lands we had passed by this morning as if we were in a completely different world. Masses of people that definitely had happier faces than those I have been used to move around busily
I watched the beauty of the city as if I was back to a time when no dungeons had appeared as if I had traveled in time to the bustling metropolis I used to know.
The scenery constantly changed as we moved further in. I had counted multiple blue monoliths so far, seeing a few rank F, E, and d dungeons based on their size. I was able to see blue monoliths similar in size to [Solael's Caslte] after we passed another checkpoint to go further into the city, counting more than 5 as time passed
The large city continued on as we passed through roads with hunters dressed in military outfits patrolling, arriving at a huge compound that had a sizable monolith with a light orange hue shimmering around it
This monolith was almost twice as big as a rank C monolith, its pressure coming down on me and taking my breath away. I got out of the car and breathed in the air of the city, feeling it to be much fresher than what I've been used to
The driver led the way as we entered the huge compound that was teeming with movement with a scan of his ID. The military compound had a variety of eye-catching buildings all around, with a ton of armored vehicles going in or out. We arrived at the tallest building and went inside
I found myself waiting for a few minutes while seated onto a very comfortable sofa before an imposing man came out. He had a long scar on his jawline with his tanned face glistening in the bright room. A powerful voice broke out from his smiling face
"Mr. Osmont, I was very glad you could make it." The rough voice rang out clearly as I observed the man in front of me, noticing him to be very different from the people I've come in contact with.
I smiled back and said "It's only right I come for something as important as this"
The discussion went well after this as the man introduced himself. He was Vice Admiral Magnar, earning my goodwill as the first thing he mentioned after his name was how he wanted to personally come to meet me as soon as I arrived
"Now, I know you must be tired from the trip, so formalities can wait until tomorrow. Commander Kyle will lead you to your resting area, where food and...entertainment will be provided"
The Vice Admiral finished his introduction and left as I began thinking about the words he had said. Entertainment?
Commander Kyle led me away and we walked to the living quarters while I thought about how I planned to live in this city. The first thing on my mind was finding out exactly what major threat was quickly approaching, and the second was my capabilities to solo that huge dungeon monolith near this compound
I'm already assuming that the first time I'll dive in it I'll be accompanied by a team, which is a safe way to play it as I currently have no idea about the increase in difficulty from rank C to B. After we finish the first dive, I'll make my decision then
We passed a few serious faces and I was given a smooth blue ID card that only had a golden letter B on it. Kyle mentioned that this card allowed access for a majority of the facilities in here, and also had access to the room in front of us. I thanked him for taking me around and he saluted and left
I scanned the key card and opened the door, expectant to see the living quarters of rank B hunters that the government provided. The room was slightly bigger than the large rooms in the Pristine Residency, boasting even more luxurious looks all around it. On the table were a wide array of foods and next to it was a huge bed...where a woman with a statuesque figure was flashing the brightest smile. Oh?
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 26 - The looming threat
So, last night was different to say the least, as I found myself getting some sleep later than usual. The food and...everything else hit the spot, taking my mind off the many thoughts constantly clashing in my head. A hunter's stamina was nothing to laugh at
I went out of the room early in the morning to walk around the living quarters and observe the compound a bit more. Even though it was this early, there was already bustling activities with people and trucks moving about
I enjoyed the cool morning air and looked towards the huge monolith a distance away, itching to go towards it and give it a go, but I calmed myself down and walked back to the living quarters. Someone quickly called out my name, it was Commander Kyle saying that the Vice Admiral was looking for me. I nodded at him to lead the way and found myself led into an office room that had an abundant amount of folders and papers lying around
"I apologize for the mess, please have a seat" The imposing Vice Admiral has his usual air of confidence as I sat down opposite him
I didn't waste any time as I asked the thing that was heavily weighing on my mind. Magnar paused for a second before pulling out a red folder and laying out multiple photos across the table
"These are aerial pictures of The Barrens quite a distance away from the Empire. They were taken over a span of a few weeks"
The pictures showed a terrifying sight of small dark dots that were uncountable, and large mass that could clearly be seen in the middle of it all. The large mass had a patterned obsidian shell that covered its entirety, only having a large head with pointed horns come out in the front
The pictures gave me a shock because these things were probably even bigger than they appeared on there. The rest of the pictures showed a similar scene, making me prompt the general to continue as I didn't grasp everything yet
"These pictures were taken at a different location each time. They are moving"
The Vice Admiral had a cold expression as he looked at the pictures and said this. My mind was moving to keep up as I took all of this in and asked him "How long do we have?"
Magnar looked at me with a difficult expression before sighing "That's the problem, we don't know. It could be in a few weeks or a month, but we cannot correctly track them because of their unpredictability."
A few weeks? Possibly a month? Phew, I let out a relieved sigh as I heard and laughed out loud, startling the man before me. I looked towards him and said "If it is a few weeks, then we have more than enough time to prepare"
I knew myself, and it was why I said this. Barely a week after I awakened and I was already standing in a position to hear information that many people had no idea about. If I was given another week or two? I was confident in getting much stronger than where I am right now. The question is, what strength will be enough to contend with the huge beast and the things it was bringing this way?
I asked the Vice Admiral whether they were confident in pushing these monsters back and his reply was less than favorable, adopting a dark expression that contained a trace of anger. He spent the next two minutes ranting about how they were not fully prepared, but the people at the top were still hesitant to institute measures to prepare for what was coming
The cities in the outer periphery of the Empire had to start the process of migrating soon, or the military needed to increase and institute its main defenses past those cities and prepare for the fight that was coming. Otherwise, a tremendous amount of people would be sacrificed for nothing
I listen to this as my mind went back to all the cities I passed when coming here, and one of the cities at the outermost of the Empire, Outer Bank X.
My gaze turned cold when I looked back at the Vice Admiral. He saw my eyes and then said "I've already rallied the relevant people though. Even though there is still some push back, we have already begun the process of moving supplies and equipment to the front lines of defense in the outer perimeters"
He continued when he saw my gaze calming down "While this will be an ongoing process to fortify our defenses on the border, we also need Hunters to lend their help in diving into dungeons and bringing out as many resources as possible. [Core]s, [Item]s, [Skill Book]s, they will all go towards the awakened soldiers that will be giving up their lives to fight on the front line"
He finished with a sad expression as he mentioned the people that would be the first line of contact between us and monsters. I thought about all this and asked how they were doing things currently
"We have 3 teams of 6 rank B Hunters alternating like clockwork to clear the rank B dungeon, [Mangrove Swamp]. The three teams are able to clear the dungeon 3 times a day and have a rest period in between, with other similar teams acting the same manner in nearby cities, but we don't know if it'll be enough." He looked at me as he said the next words
"That's where people like you come in. I haven't met any rank B hunters that have been able to dive alone into a rank C dungeon repeatedly, so your power should be among the highest. I would love your cooperation to hasten this process with one of the teams we have clearing [Mangrove Swamp]" He said these words carefully while watching my face
I thought over everything and the amount of time we possibly had before nodding my head. "When is the next team diving?"
A relieved expression appeared on his face as he told me the next team was going in within an hour.
We then discussed how the resources were split up between the hunter teams diving in [Mangrove Swamp]. The military would pay handsomely for all the [Core]s, [Item]s, and [Skill]s they received while providing for all their needs. If you became a hunter enlisted in the military, you would be given a rank with even more benefits
I thought about everything and decided to go with the plan of seeing the [Mangrove Swamp] while diving with a team. I would decide how to move forward from there. The talk with the Vice Admiral finished on a happy note, with him leading me to personally meet the rank B hunting squad I would be joining today
Half the group had already gotten together and I got the chance to meet the first genuine rank B hunters. Their mannerisms were a notch above other hunters and their bodies seemed packed with power than could explode at any moment. These were rank B Hunters that could bring their attributes all the way to 250. When paired up with corresponding skills, it was a deadly force to behold
The first 3 that I met were 2 Berserkers, one holding a broad sword that was just as tall as him and the other holding long blades on either side of him. The third one was a short woman that was about 4'1 in height, and she was surprisingly the Knight of the team. The power emanating from her in no way matched her stature as a huge tower shield larger than her was strapped to her back
I got acquainted with the three while the rest of the team came in. They were all relatively polite with a mild interest in their eyes when we were talking, with the only one different being the short woman who went by the name Lana Stone. She was staring at me with eyes that blazed with fire as she showed much more interest than the others
The remaining team members were 2 mages, a man and a woman dressed in long purple robes with long staffs sparkling with ice elements. The last one was another Knight, this one with a round golden shield covering half of his body and a flail on his other hand
More introductions followed and the 6 usual rank B hunters that were about to dive into the [Mangrove Swamp] were joined by me.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 27 - [Mangrove Swamp]
I didn't like the [Mangrove Swamp] the instant we were transferred in. We appeared in the middle of muddy ground where I could feel my feet sink in a couple of inches. All around us were huge mangrove trees that shot to the sky. The smell was horrendous
From the information the hunters gave me before we came, this land where we were transferred to was the innermost small patch of land surrounded by a muddy swamp. Our enemies would be coming all around us from the innermost ring of the swamp
The swamp was special as it had multiple rings. The first wave of enemies we would be facing would all be from the first ring, and the moment all those enemies were killed, a barrier between the innermost ring and the second wider ring would dissipate.
The moment that barrier dissipated, all the monsters from the second ring would rush towards you. There were 5 rings in the entire swamp, with the fifth ring releasing the BOSS. This really was a killer dungeon. I didn't like the sticky and hard to move in environment, but my mind couldn't help but think of the possibilities of this dungeon with my abilities
To prevent the complete wipeout of the hunting squads, the hunters designated one of the monsters they faced with the title of [Princess]. They could kill all other monsters besides this [Princess, she had to be protected at all cost. Otherwise, the moment she dies, the 2nd barrier will break and more enemies will rush in before they could catch their breath
I understood their entire system and soon began to feel the earth trembling beneath my feet. Humongous monsters were coming.
The first one entering my eyes was a 4-meter large alligator, its huge jaws wide open as it lunged at our group. I instantly cast [Flames of Torment] and flung the thick pillar of flames forward as if it were a spearheading directly into the open jaws
SSSS!
Sounds of meat being burnt rang out, with a burnt smell right after as the inside of the alligator was destroyed by the rotating pillar of flames. I was thankful that this rank D skill had reached 100 proficiency and continued to be enhanced by support skills that allowed it to take down rank B monsters
"Haha, good work newbie!" The short tank, Lana Stone, was holding the tower shield twice her size shouted as she and the rest of the group members moved to block and attack the other incoming alligators
"I'll hold on to the [Princess]!" The other tank with a flail and golden shield said as his body glowed blue and withstood the charges of other alligators. The berserker with the broadsword held his sword now enveloped with flames and swiped at the neck of another one, making a clear clean-cut as if there was no resistance from their scaly armor
The other berserker with two swords struck out and unleashed a huge cross-shaped sword light that went forward to butcher another set of alligators. The two mages weren't lagging behind as they had already cast their spells. The area in front of them quickly became icy and froze all the incoming alligators, which is when the berserkers came in and shattered them with a swing of their swords. The mages then pulled back behind Lana before continuing to cast other spells
I liked their teamwork and began moving seriously myself. 10 golden swords appeared in the air and rushed down to each of the remaining alligators besides the [Princess, piercing their hard dry scales and nailing them to the ground
I did this repeatedly a few times, taking down tens of alligators before the hunting squad looked at me in surprise after witnessing the enhanced power of [Smite] and shouted words of encouragement soon after as they went to reinforce the Knight with the golden shield on holding off the [Princess].
"Newbie, I knew I felt something special from you. Don't hold back!" Lana said as she went to help hold off the one remaining alligator, her small body powerfully moving the large tower shield as if it was weightless
The two Knights rotated on holding off the [Princess] until 10 minutes passed when everybody had regained most of their energy, a sword bathed in flames ended its life. A sound was heard as if a bubble had popped, before even more tremors could be heard as more alligators rushed in
The squad members always stayed in a tight-knit formation throughout, with the mages and I in the middle, the Knights and Berserkers on the outside. Even while being swarmed by tens of alligators, they held them off successfully
I was casting [Smite] after about every minute thereafter, cleaning off a majority of the alligators without completely overpowering everything and making the short tank throw me even more fiery gazes
The chosen [Princess] of this round was kept alive for 20 minutes before everyone was good to go once more. We repeated this process until the third and fourth barrier was released, the thrill getting to me as I watched these powerful rank B hunters throw out skills in similar power to mine
The release of the fourth barrier was only done after a [Princess] had been held down for half an hour, the hunter squad regaining their strength at their peak before all of their gazes focused on the male mage. They seemed to come to an understanding as they nodded their heads and told me to not go away from them under any circ.u.mstances while we began clearing this next wave
I nodded curiously as I waited to see what surprise they were going to pull off as I watched more than a hundred huge alligators desperately clawing their way towards us. The mage held his staff forward as he was protected in a circle and aimed it toward the incoming monsters. Thirty seconds passed with nothing happening, and then the heat began to rapidly rise all around us
I was shocked as I looked up and saw balls of thick magma raining from the sky and barreling down to the large groups of alligators making their way here.
BOOOM!!!
Sounds like bombs were constantly going off could be heard whenever the large balls of magma fell down and burned everything around it, turning any that were near into mincemeat. More than half of the alligators were wiped out with this one attack
My eyes shined as I looked at the heavily panting mage that had fallen to the ground. That type of skill...I wanted one!
My heart was pounding as I replayed the scene of the raining magma balls from before. This skill, I really did want one badly. If I could grab a skill like this, with my abilities...I was imagining how I could easily clear out large groups of monsters in seconds
I was daydreaming too much as someone had to scream to get my attention back to the monsters. "Come on newbie, don't lay there gaping and let's take care of the remaining beasts!"
The miniature tank was laughing crazily as she went forward to block the remaining wave that had reached us. I clicked my tongue while bringing back my focus and cast [Smite] once more. I shaved off a majority of the remaining crocodiles by casting the 10 golden blades every 30 seconds. With the 2 berserkers butchering with their swords, only a [Princess] soon remained. The moment this remaining alligator was killed, An unimaginably large TITAN would be coming for us
I was curious to see how they usually handled this BOSS if their mage chose to cast such a powerful skill just before to avoid being surrounded by hundreds of alligators. Which hunter would come out with another surprise now?
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 28 - [Mangrove Swamp II]
I was expectantly waiting for another surprise from these genuine rank B hunters. One showed an extremely powerful skill that took out tens of rank B monsters in a blink, although it seemed to be at the cost of her entire mana reserves
The Knights continued to solidly defend even when they had tens of monsters surrounding them, never letting a single one pass through to their squad members.
I wouldn't be waiting long to see the BOSS as half an hour quickly passed and the last [Princess] was killed. I waited to hear the furious tremors of a huge TITAN rushing through the swamp but instead just felt the entire swamp shake once with everything going silent after. It then shook once more a few seconds after
These were...just its steps? I was shocked while feeling the tremors that traveled through the murky waters. The TITAN was slowly making its way towards us in unhurried steps. This was something that would instill fear into the hearts of hunters, but looking at these veterans that had dived into this dungeon multiple times before, they had determined expressions while waiting for the boss
The berserker holding the huge broadsword spoke to me. "Continue casting your golden blades to disrupt it's attention when the fight starts. If you can aim them at its eyes, it'll reduce its combat power even if it can still sense us"
I nodded and prepared to face off against the huge beast on the horizon. It felt like a big mountain was gradually coming closer as the beast neared, its scales shining a dark green color, with its eyes shining a terrifying light. It looked at us a distance away as it's humongous jaws opened and an unnatural sound came out
OOOOOO!!!
The sound was grating to the ears as the huge alligator's mouth now showed rows and rows of glistening sharp teeth. Its upper jaw was much wider than the lower one, causing its teeth to be completely hidden when its jaws were snapped shut. But now that it was open...the sight was horrible to behold.
The man with the flaming sword continued with his directions "Spread out! Knights, keep it busy, and don't get eaten!"
The two Knights nodded as this wasn't the first time, and they took their positions to the left and right of the alligator. The flames on the sword the berserker was holding began to dance wildly before they exploded and went to...cover the entire body of the hunter
I was startled at this type of skill as the man in front of me had his body wreathed in flames. A howl escaped from him as he rushed forward to meet the TITAN head-on. There was a blinding expanse of light as the berserker was flung back right away, looking like a huge fireball.
10 golden blades had quickly appeared and half of them went towards each eye in a straight line. A pained sound rang out as the eyes of the humongous alligator were ruptured with puss leaking out
The berserker with dual blades took this chance to release two large sword lights that smacked onto the right side of the alligator, heavily injuring it. It didn't sit still as it turned to the side and the next thing we knew, a scaly tail twice our size was shining in green light as it whizzed its way towards us
The two Knights shouted as their bodies glowed and transparent shields of light appeared in front both of them when the tail struck
BOOM!
The land shook from the impact, but Knights stood their ground and the strike was stopped. Continuing with the momentum, a flaming berserker rushed in once more, spinning in the air as he constantly released fire blades that struck down on the head of the alligator
I cast [Smite] once again and had the 10 blades aim towards its open jaws when it was howling in pain, rupturing the softer skin inside. The remaining mage that was silent all this time finally acted, her glimmering staff pointed forward as an icicle the size of a car came down and pierced the already mangled head of the TITAN, cutting short its screams as blood and brain matter splattered all around
My blood was boiling as I watched all of these fantastical skills and couldn't wait to start amassing higher ranked skills of my own. I looked at the corpse of the disfigured TITAN and promised myself to run this dungeon at least tens of times in the coming days to see what rank B skills would pop out, and of course, the rare chance of a rank A skill dropping
The hunting squad members were cheering at the finished raid as a green crystal appeared. Lana came towards me and said "Not bad newbie! Those blades of yours allowed us to finish our raid in record time, our profits are about to increase!"
The rest of the members laughed as they gathered together and checked to see if anybody was injured. The mage that had cast the amazing looking skill where magma balls fell from the sky was up on his feet again as they collected the loot and prepared to leave the dungeon
I looked around me at the multitude of alligator corpses, and the even larger one by the side. I knew I could clear this dungeon if I came in alone, but it would take me a lot of time to take down hundreds of alligators and this huge beast, and I loved clearing dungeons as quickly as possible
My highest ranking offensive skill was C, and I felt like I needed a high damage rank B skill similar to these hunters for an even smoother BOSS run. The face of a chiseled man popped in my head as I thought about what to do next
After the [Core]s and an [Item] that dropped were collected, we placed our hands on the green crystal and were transferred to the outside world once more. Officers that were standing guard near the monolith were surprised and checked their watches when we came out. The dungeon was completed in under 3 hours this time around because of my addition
I took down the contact information of the rank B hunters as they invited me to go with them to celebrate. I thought about it as I recalled I hadn't really associated myself in any social settings for a quite a while, maybe this would be something good to do. The dungeon wasn't going anywhere, and a few hours of new places wouldn't hurt. I told them I'd catch up with them as I already planned to do something else at the moment and went towards the office of the Vice Admiral
Bypassing the many security points, I came back to the office filled with stacks of paper once again. Magnar looked at an antique clock on the wall before smiling at me and saying "Everything went well I presume?"
"Very, and I would love to continue to help, but I'm going to need a favor from you first"
The man's eyes perked up as he listened to my words. This time around, I wanted to look through the offensive rank B skills in the hands of the military that I could learn to make my run of the dungeon even smoother. Even if I was good enough to beat it now, being even more prepared was not an issue
I could've jumped into the dungeon and spent some time clearing it for rank B skills, but the drops were random so I would never know how long I'd be diving before a skill that I actually wanted to use drops
The lower-ranking skills were also quickly losing their effectiveness, as the rank F [Fireball] would not dent the scales of rank B monsters and wasn't used even once the entire dungeon dive.
"Just a single rank B skill? I can make something like that happen, let me call someone in"
I nodded at him and waited by the side. A minute later, a woman dressed in business wear came into the room and greeted the Vice Admiral
"Boss, here's the doc.u.ment you wanted."
Magnar nodded at her as he grabbed the thick book and handed it to me.
"This is the inventory of all rank B skills that haven't been distributed yet. Let us know which one fits your taste and we'll take it out of storage for you"
Magnar looked at the hunter in front of him that was intently looking through the inventory of skill books and smiled at the achievement of recruiting another excellent hunter.
Seeing how he almost halved the dungeon run, his help would continue to bring in even more resources in the weeks to come. He just hoped this hunter's addition along with everything else they were trying to do would bolster their strength enough to stand against what was coming. What they really needed were more of the peak rank A hunters, but they couldn't be cultivated as quickly
He was also looking favorably at the hunter in front of him as another candidate, as his power had skyrocketed just in the past week, maybe there were still more surprises from him
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 29 - The Coliseum
The book held a list of many more skills than I expected, making me spend some time deciding my first rank B offensive skill. A disastrous skill caught my eye with its high damage potential and the fact that it would match extremely well with the [Mangrove Swamp]'s huge cl.u.s.ters of alligators that would swarm towards me once I went in alone
I let the Vice Admiral know of my selection and spent a few minutes talking while the assistant went out, coming back ten minutes later with a suitcase that held a thick book
I received the suitcase and absorbed the skill [Miniature Tornado: For 10 seconds, unleash a rotating column of sharp winds that follow your commands]
The skill appeared in my panel without an issue, and I was looking forward to spamming as much of it as I could when hundreds of alligators swarmed me from all sides
I gave my thanks to the Vice Admiral and stepped out of the office. The short tank, Lana Stone, had already sent an address on my phone of where I should be joining them. I'll indulge myself in this bit of socializing before going back to my lone ways of decimating dungeons
I got out of the military sector and got a ride towards the location. The streets of Star City were packed with energy and people, making you rethink whether half the land had really been turned into a desolate wasteland and people were still fighting for their lives
This being one of the core defense cities of the Empire, there were very few incidents of monsters causing deaths and destruction once things stabilized. The unawakened people thus looked up to the hunters that were diving into dungeons to protect them every day and aspired to be like them
The car neared a grand structure that could be seen from anywhere in the city. It took my breath away as I remembered seeing videos of structures like these that were in multiple inner cities across the Empire. The excited faces of people rushing in through the huge double doors and the shouts and screams could already be heard from here. This was the place where hunters fought and competed for fun. This, was The Coliseum.
I shot a text to Lana that I was here, and someone approached me a few minutes after to lead me past the lines of people. Booming sounds of boos and cheers were already resounding throughout the huge building as we went in and neared spaces with fewer people. The Coliseum was built similar to those in ancient cultures, a huge oval amphitheater with thousands of seats
The Hunting Squad had a huge space all to themselves close to the arena floor in the middle where there were already hunters fighting. I joined them and watched the ongoing match which seemed to be between two rank C hunters
The fights were brutal, as the bloodier they were the more cheers the crowd gave. Drinks and food were already brought in and we began talking when the short tank turned to me and screamed in my ears over the loud cheering
"We might be lucky enough to see an amazing show in a few minutes, apparently Lightning Hand is bored enough once again and is announcing a competition soon!"
I listened to her words as I recalled who Lightning Hand was. This was one of the few known rank A hunters of the Empire, I didn't realize he was in Star City. What was someone strong like him about to do?
The fight between the two rank C hunters was gradually coming to a close as the mage ran out of mana and was now being beaten to a pulp by the berserker. The crowd was screaming like they were possessed as a ringing sound was heard and the fight was finished
The cheers reached an even higher pitch when the match was done and a burly man with his body crackling with lightning appeared on the four huge screens in the middle of the coliseum
He was standing in a section close to us surrounded by pretty women when he grabbed a mic and his booming voice could be heard throughout
"HELLO CITIZENS OF STAR CITY!"
The strong voice rang out like a clap of lightning and the cheers from the spectators reached a fevered pitch
"We're in for a great show today, as I will be putting forth a prize that no hunter can say no to..."
Lightning Hand rose his hand in the air as a thick book appeared between his fingers. "This, my dear citizens, is the rank A skill book, [Flight]!"
The crowd went silent for a second before even louder cheers resounded. My mind received a shock as I looked up at the man on the screen and the glistening skill book he was holding
The hunting squad members got up from their seats as serious expressions rose on their faces
The man whose body had tendrils of lightning dancing on it continued "For today only, in the next 30 minutes, the winner of a Free for All fight will get to take this bad boy home!!!"
The loud screams continued to increase as hunters from all over the stadiums rose up with greedy faces. This was a rank A skill, something that rarely dropped in rank B dungeons, and only ever came out from the dungeons that very few hunters could delve in. This was the dream of many hunters
Even I was expectant to get my hands on something like this. [Flight, something that literally allowed you to...well, fly
"Now, for all the hunters that want to participate, jump into the ring!"
The moment his words finished, multiple hunters began jumping from their seats onto the huge circular arena at the center of the coliseum. Hunters were greedy for skills but were smart enough not to lose their lives. Most of the ones that jumped in were rank C hunters and a few rank Bs
The members of the hunting squad look at each other before the short tank said "Haha, lets put our restrictions aside and see which person is lucky enough to get this pie falling from the sky"
The rest of them nodded at this and also jumped down to join the hunters on the ground. I looked at the outpouring of hunters that were filling the arena and rose up myself
It was already half-filled with dense numbers of hunters that were putting their lives on the line. I looked at this and jumped down myself with a sigh. I really couldn't sit out on something like this
Rank A skills were so rare that getting another skill like this would be near impossible unless you farmed the high ranking dungeon tens or hundreds of times. Even now I was questioning why this Rank A hunter was giving it away on a whim
He continued talking as the hunters continued to fill into the arena "The rules for the Free for All are simple, the last man standing...WINS"
The crowd had gone crazy as the build-up to the fight continued, with people standing up hysterically shouting as if they were the ones getting the prize
A few minutes passed by with no other hunters jumping into the ring. Lightning Hand looked around the densely packed arena and raised his arm. Quietness ensued in the huge coliseum before he brought it down and shouted "START!"
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
Chapter 30 - Free for All
The arena was filled with screams as soon as the fight started, with explosions of skills bouncing from all around. The rank C hunters were taking each other out without a question, their eyes filled with greed.
The lower-ranked hunters here were those whose greed had surpassed their common sense, as the sane ones stayed on their seats to keep on watching the moment they realized the people competing for this would mostly be rank B
I watched the scene of chaos unfolding in front of me as I smiled and activated both [Stealth] and [Camouflage]. I disappeared from the sights of all the hunters and watched the scene while fully protected with multiple defensive skills that brushed off any spell that accidentally came my way
The audience was screaming in a frenzy as they watched the bloody fight below, calling for more blood anytime someone fell. Rank B hunters gradually began to move in full force, devastating skills beginning to fly out
The squad I had dived into [Mangrove Swamp] with were all far apart fighting their own battles, but one of the mages was already knocked out cold. At the center of attention was a hunter holding two round shields with his body bathed in golden light. This Knight pushed back all attacks and hunters that neared him with explosive blasts of white light the moment they neared
Multiple hunters were falling just from him alone. Opposite on the other side was a woman holding a bow that was shooting flaming arrows and heavily wounding the hunters that were struck
I watched all of this while evading any hunters rushing about and absorbing the stray attacks without the notice from any hunters. The bloody fight continued until most of the rank C hunters were knocked out, leaving 9 rank B hunters on the floor of the arena intently staring at each other
AAAHH!!!
One of them couldn't hold on any longer and let out a battle cry while rushing to another hunter nearest to him. Another brawl ensued, with the hunter holding the two round shields continuing to push away any skills and attack with explosive blasts of white light
From the hunting squad I knew, only the berserker with the flaming sword continued, his entire body wreathed in flames once more as he took on two other hunters by himself. The rest of the team members were knocked out cold or sitting out injured
I found a relatively far place in the arena away from the fight that had a ton of rank C hunters either knocked out or struggling painfully and sat down while continuing to observe the fight. My aim was to do very little work and defeat the last hunter standing that should be exhausted to obtain this rank A skill easily
The hard fight continued as it came down to two hunters facing off in the Arena, the hunter bathed in a golden light that was holding two shields and the hunter with a bow that shot scalding hot flames. Their standoff was building up the anticipation among the audience as the cheers continued
I was looking forward to doing very little work and win when I felt the air change. Instead of heading towards each other, two hunters turned towards my location at the same time.
Well shit
I stood up and got ready for the fight early as it seemed the hunters saw through my [Stealth] and [Camouflage]. Did they have a skill that helped in detection or something else?
Oh well, it doesn't matter anyway. A bright smile bloomed on my face as I watched the woman draw her bow and shoot multiple flaming arrows towards me and the shining Knight rushed forward
I would at least get a chance to test the destructive force of the newly gained skill against two rank B hunters that seem to be standing at the peak of this rank. [Miniature Tornado] was cast for the first time
A swirling mass of sharp winds appeared in front of me that dispersed the flame arrows that were rushing towards me and pushed back the glowing Knight. I felt the winds move my dark hair around as I commanded the skill to go towards the nearest hunter
The body of the glowing Knight...expanded? Wow, his body actually expanded as the blinding light shooting out of him increased, withstanding the heavy and sharp winds until the skill faded a few seconds after as it had a 10-second duration
His body came back to normal size while he was roughly breathing, seeming proud of being able to withstand the attack. I gave a light laugh as I shook my head and cast another [Miniature Tornado]
The Knight's face turned ashen as he saw another coming right at him and used the two shields to try and withstand the rotating winds to no avail, being blown away with cuts all over his body a second after
The remaining hunter on the field that was shooting arrows had moved a further distance away from me while continuing to shoot. I wouldn't let her have her way as I used [Whirlwind] to close the distance and cast another [Miniature Tornado] at her position. The rapidly rotating winds swiped the hunter off her feet, inflicting heavy damage on the armor and skin beneath it, the force ultimately blasting her onto the walls of the arena
Silence followed after as I stood in a field of hunters that were either knocked out or crying painfully, with a few missing some limbs
"WAAAA!!!"
The crowd's cries reached another decibel higher as they saw the end of the fight, and the booming voice of the rank A Hunter could be heard
"Haha, good, good, good!"
The man repeated the same words three times before he leaped up from the area he was in and fell down towards the arena like a strike of lightning. He looked me up and down and laughed once more before pulling out a glistening book from his storage ring
"Calm yet careful, smart, and also powerful. Haha, this skill book isn't wasted on you. It was supposed to go to the rank B hunter with the highest achievements in the city, but I'm impulsive and I believe in opportunity and luck. This, is your fortune!"
The skill book was carried by a thin layer of sparkling electricity and drifted towards me. I was marveling at the skills of a rank A hunter while looking at this monster of a man in front of me. His body seemed like a volcano ready to erupt and smash anything standing on its way
I knew I wasn't ready to face someone like this yet. My attributes had only just broke through to rank B because of some support skills, and I needed to put in a lot more work if I wanted to catch up to people at this stage before everything crumbled
"Thank you for the opportunity" I grabbed the skill book, absorbing it right then and there without wasting a single second as I thanked the man surrounded by lightning.
"Use it wisely and try to reach for higher places" He nodded as his body lifted off the ground effortlessly, leaving behind a few words before shooting up to skies and being gone in a flash of light
I could barely follow the speed of that lightning as it went away, making me even more excited to go back to my lone ways of dungeon diving and quickly gain that level of strength.
If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know report chapter so we can fix it as soon as possible.
Report chapter
