Afterwards, Ryu hunted a few more Slimes on the way. However, except for Slime Cores he didn’t receive anything else.
But it brought him closer to next level.
And with the final kill, a rush of heat and chill surged through Ryuzen’s veins like lightning and snow colliding.
In the next instant, the familiar notifications blinked into view.
[ Congratulations, Host! You have leveled up. ]
[ Your attributes have been distributed evenly. ]
[ Strength +18, Agility +24, Vitality +18 ]
A low pulse of essence rippled through his body. Then his muscles tightened, bones strengthened, and his breath steamed even heavier in the cold. It felt like his skin had been reforged in invisible fire and frost.
"Finally, I got those juicy attribute points," he muttered under his breath.
The invigorating sensation of level up was a lot more intense than the last time. His physique had been more refined, so he was getting more attributes with the S-Tier bloodline.
Next, he looked at status screen to see his improvements.
[ Name: Ryuzen De Manus ]
[ Bloodline: Solarfrost Imperial Dragon (S) ]
[ Lifespan: 250 years ]
[ Skills: Twin Eclipse Ascent (E), Sunflare Glacier Roar (E), Hydra Human (E), Night Berserker (E), Phantom Claw (E), Windleap Dash (E), Tunnel Gore Strike (E), Shell Sense (F), Water Resistance (F) ]
Ryu rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he glanced screen.
"So, I am eight times stronger than an average human now... That’s actually a little crazy," he muttered, his breath curling into the air.
The realization made him smirk, but not with arrogance—more like cautious excitement.
He flexed his arm, letting the surge of raw strength ripple through it. But strength wasn’t everything.
"I can’t always rely on brute force," he reminded himself. "I need skills. Powerful combat skills. Not just slashing things with raw stats."
His gaze drifted toward the icy walls, then back at the shimmering blade resting in his hand.
"But this dungeon... it’s not giving me anything useful at all. No skill drops, no magical items. Even the corpses disappears before I can use Codex on them.
Could it be because of the Easy Mode?" He frown. "Yeah. It has to be it. Everything here gets defeated so easily. Even the wolves barely touched me."
But he was unaware that even a group of newbies had to be serious to defeat one of them. On the other hand, he defeated them single handedly. He didn’t even use his Dragon form yet. And It’s all because of his powerful bloodline that gave a powerful body.
Unware of the fact, he exhaled and surveyed the area again.
White snow blanketed everything in soft layers, muting the sounds around him. Thick glacial walls reflected dim light from small glowing stones embedded in the ceiling. The whole cavern resembled a forgotten winter temple, eerie in its beauty.
But there was no sign of a portal or exit anywhere.
No return option either.
"Great... so it’s not one of those easy exit types," he said, rolling his eyes. "Maybe I just need to beat the final boss of this zone to unlock the gate."
"If so, let’s end this mode properly. And after that... I’m switching to Hard difficulty. Let’s see what happens then."
With that thought in mind, he stepped forward slowly. To find the Boss.
The floor sloped downward slightly, leading toward a large arched corridor carved through a jagged glacier. A cold breeze whispered from beyond, carrying with it a distant growl.
His hand gripped the hilt of his blade tighter, sensing a strong presence ahead.
The air turned colder, more biting than before, and even the frost on the walls seemed to tremble in anticipation.
His footsteps echoed lightly on the icy floor as he moved deeper through the glacier corridor. A faint blue glow began to radiate from the chamber ahead, growing brighter with each step he took. The temperature dropped further, enough that normal skin would have cracked and bled from the chill.
A distant growl rumbled through the tunnel, low and guttural.
"That must be it," Ryuzen muttered, narrowing his eyes.
He emerged into a wide, circular chamber, domed and rimmed with frozen pillars.
In the center stood a massive beast, larger than anything he had fought so far. Its fur was pale as moonlight, engraved with shards of ice that protruded like armor. Its glowing blue eyes locked onto him with immediate hostility.
[ Frostfang Direwolf - Level 10 ]
Its breath came out in heavy, freezing puffs, and when it snarled, the walls vibrated faintly.
Ryuzen cracked his neck and shifted into a battle stance.
"You’re the final gatekeeper, hmm?"
In response, the wolf pounced.
A blur of white and frost rushed at him like an avalanche.
But Ryuzen met it head-on, his blade slicing in a upward arc, clashing with the beast’s claw mid-air.
The impact sent a shockwave through the cavern, shattering ice along the floor.
With a howl, the Frostfang Direwolf jumped again. This time faster and more precise.
Its claws slashed through the air with a whistling cry, aiming for Ryu’s neck.
Ryu blocked it just in time, but the sheer weight of the beast knocked him off balance. He gritted his teeth as icy claws raked across his left shoulder, slicing through the leather coat and leaving a gash.
"Argh... damn, that stings," he hissed, rolling backward to gain distance.
Frost crept along his wound, numbing the skin. But his golden eyes remained sharp.
He wasn’t afraid. Pain was a teacher, and right now, it was telling him to stop holding back.
He inhaled deeply. And Mana surged through his veins.
[ Sunflare Glacier Roar ]
Ryuzen slammed his foot down and roared from deep within his chest. A burst of searing light mixed with frost erupted from his mouth, engulfing the chamber in a wave of fire and ice.
The fusion of solar blaze and glacial breath caught the Direwolf mid-charge.
The beast howled in agony as steam hissed from its body. Its frozen armor cracked under the heat, and parts of its fur turned to brittle shards of ice.
The Direwolf staggered.
Then, with a whoosh, Ryuzen dashed forward with [ Windleap Dash ], his speed turning into almost turning him into a blur.
With Phantom Claw activated, his arm shimmered with violet mana as he struck at the exposed chest of the beast.
The strike tore through muscle and ice. The Direwolf let out one last pained growl before collapsing with a thud that shook the cavern floor.
Ryu ran fast to use the Codex, but it disappeared almost instantly, making him frustrated.
But where it disappeared from, a glowing book appeared.
[ Rare Item Dropped: Skill Book - Frost Armor (E) ]
Ryuzen exhaled slowly, sweat forming on his brow despite the cold. His shoulder throbbed from the wound, but it was shallow enough to heal.
He bent down, picking up the glowing blue book that glowed with icy mist.
"Frost Armor, huh? Just what I need. Something to patch me up and keep me safe while fighting close range."
"But how do I acquire it?" He asked himself, puzzled.
But as soon he crushed the book instinctively, it dissolved into a wisp of mana and entered his body.
[ Skill Acquired: Frost Armor (E) ]
Instantly a faint cool aura wrapped around him like a second skin. His pain lessened, and his wound began to freeze shut.