Somewhere within the Necropolis dungeon’s first floor, the sound of metal tearing into flesh could be heard. A brown-haired young man clashed against an Awakened Gladiator while a black-haired young woman slid beside him and stabbed a Skeleton Hunter who was about to shoot an arrow at his back.
The young man knew the Hunter was aiming for him but trusted his companion to deal with it as he finished off the opponent in front of him. With his back covered, he went in for the kill as his sword slammed down with extreme force.
You have slain a Lv 60 Awakened Gladiator! Gained 100,000 Exp (500%)
[Defiance] leveled up! (6 -> 7)
The young man turned to assist his companion, but before he could do so, he saw another system message.
You have slain a Lv 60 Skeleton Hunter! Gained 100,000 Exp (500%)
You have leveled up! +5 Attribute points
He quickly turned around and used [Siphon] just in time.
[Agility Up] leveled up! (5 -> 6)
[Intermediate Bowmanship] leveled up! (3 -> 4)
"Thanks, Amber."
Amber gave Sol a brief nod as she sheathed her daggers.
Sol was glad the shared experience still gave him the bonus for being underleveled. ’These rings really do make it convenient.’
Link Ring
Common
Skills:
[Experience Link] Lv 2
[Experience Link] Lv 2: Forms a connection between other link rings and shares experience gained between the wearers when in close proximity.
With it, there was no worry about who got the final blow, and they could fight without holding back.
Sol checked his status page and smiled. ’Leveling here is so much faster.’
Name: Sol
Race: Human
Talents: [Siphoner]
Level: 40
Exp: 140,380/280,000
HP: 1050
MP: 500
Str: 40 (+60)
Vit: 40 (+70)
Agi: 40 (+30)
Int: 40 (+10)
Wis: 40 (+10)
Talent Skills:
[Siphon] Lv 3, [Analysis] Lv 4
Passive Skills:
[Intermediate Swordsmanship] Lv 5, [Basic Trapmaking] Lv 9, [Muffled Movements] Lv EX, [Counter] Lv 1, [Quick Cast] Lv 7, [Agility Up] Lv 6, [Nature Sense] Lv 1, [Intermediate Throwing] Lv 1, [Intermediate Unarmed Mastery] Lv 1, [Gargantuan Strength] Lv 1, [Intermediate Bowmanship] Lv 4, [Intermediate Axemanship] Lv 2, [Iron Stomach] Lv 5, [Pursuit] Lv 1, [Endless Vitality] Lv 2, [Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv MAX, [Physical Resistance] Lv MAX, [Mana Perception] Lv 6, [Natural Armor] Lv MAX, [Wisdom Up] Lv 2, [Increased Health Regeneration] Lv 3, [Intelligence Up] Lv 2, [Basic Spearmanship] Lv 9, [Mana Efficiency] Lv 5, [Precise Coordination] Lv 6, [Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 2, [Intermediate Shield Mastery] Lv 2, [Defiance] Lv 7
Active Skills:
[Cross Slash] Lv 3, [Ground Shrink] Lv 1, [Basic Wind Magic] Lv 6, [Intermediate Fire Magic] Lv 4, [Snap Punch] Lv 4, [Blurry Steps] Lv 1, [Harden] Lv 9, [Blast Arrow] Lv 3, [Concealment] Lv 9, [Death Cyclone] Lv 8, [Basic Water Magic] Lv 6, [Intermediate Earth Magic] Lv 1, [Earth Hammer] Lv 5, [Rock Throw] Lv 4, [Burrow] Lv MAX, [Fell Cleave] Lv 5, [Crippling Strike] Lv 8, [Destructive Charge] Lv 4, [Rage] Lv 9, [Meditation] Lv 2, [Telepathy] Lv 1, [Barricade] Lv 3, [Barrage] Lv 2
A few of Sol’s skills had undergone evolution from siphoning the skills one time like [Charge], [Wide Swing], [Heavy Blow], [Block], and [Power Shot]. There were also new skills he gained from the Skeleton Hunters and Awakened Shieldbearers; they had yet to find a Skeleton Mage. He had also gained four whole levels since they began exploring an hour ago. For most people, it would take days to gain one level, but every kill gives Sol a hundred times more experience than fighting an equal level enemy.
Although the feeling of leveling up was exhilarating, Sol knew it wouldn’t last long. As every level up required even more experience than the last while at the same time reducing the level gap bonus. By the time Sol reached level 55, the progress would slow down significantly, and there he would have to make a choice.
Sol could either keep battling the same enemies and level up slowly or go to deeper floors and fight stronger and larger groups of enemies. The choice was obvious to Sol. He was confident in being able to punch above his weight class, and there was also the added benefit of stronger enemies having better skills which he would love to take for himself.
Sol turned to Amber, "Think we can handle groups of three?"
Amber nodded.
"Alright, let’s head deeper then."
With the help of the guide and [Mana Perception], it wasn’t difficult to find more enemies. With every enemy they encountered, Sol rotated between different fighting styles to become better at using them. Sol would mostly stick to using his reliable sword, other times he would take out the bow and sometimes he would add magic into the mix.
Sol wanted to practice with other weapons, but when he did so with his axe and it met the battleaxe of an Awakened Gladiator, his axe ended up broken in two. The weapon was a simple common one he bought to try out back in Kerman and simply wasn’t durable enough to handle the strong undead with a superior weapon. Sol wasn’t keen on breaking the other common weapons he bought, so he stuck with just using his sword and bow, but even his sword was starting to show signs of wear.
Warhawk’s Talon
Rare
Attack: 50-60
Durability: 537/750
Skills:
[Sharpness] Lv 4, [Penetration] Lv 4
It had only been one day, and the durability had sharply decreased, but it was mostly Sol’s fault. The durability was impacted the most whenever Sol met the enemy’s weapon head-on to use [Counter]. Once he noticed, he stopped trying to block their blows as he didn’t want his weapon to suddenly break.
Three hours had passed as the two slew the groups of undead they encountered until they finally found the last undead they had yet to encounter. A black-cloaked skeleton roamed the passage escorted by two Undead Shieldbearers; it looked different from any other undead encountered so Sol used [Analysis] on it.
[Analysis] leveled up! (4 -> 5)
Sol used it often, so he wasn’t surprised it finally leveled up.
’Nice, but [Siphon] is starting to fall behind, I hope it levels up soon.’
Name: N/A
Race: Skeleton Mage
Talents:
[Fire Affinity], [Chant], [Mana Absorbing]
Level: 60
HP: 900
MP: 1200
Str: 15
Vit: 40 (+50)
Agi: 45
Int: ??? (+20)
Wis: 100 (+20)
Talent Skills:
[???] Lv 7, [Bane] Lv 5
Passive Skills:
[Living Corpse] Lv MAX, [Intelligence Up] Lv 4, [Wisdom Up] Lv 4, [Increase Mana Regeneration] Lv ?, [Quick Cast] Lv 8
Active Skills:
[Intermediate Fire Magic] Lv 5
Because Sol had increased his level and skill level, more details were shown. Although the undead mage had fewer skills than other enemies on this floor, Sol didn’t let his guard down as magic could be unpredictable and harder to counter.
Sol whispered to Amber, "That’s a Skeleton Mage, take it out while I distract the Awakened Shieldbearers."
Without waiting for confirmation, Sol jumped in front of the undead and began casting.
"Sharp winds dice my foes, [Razor Wind]!"