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Chapter 55: Eighth Floor
🕑 Added 2025-03-04 14:03:33 +0000 UTC“Was that the theme of this floor?” James wondered as he saw a human with the head of a bull.
“A minotaur! Never seen that one in my life before. Hey! It looks like you, James.” Sanders nudged him with his elbow.
James rolled his eyes as he looked at him.
“He doesn’t have horns… He does have tusks, though.” Anderson rolled his eyes after comparing James with the minotaur.
At a distance, there was a big black minotaur that stood seven meters tall. It loomed over the normal-sized minotaurs as it traversed the field.
Its body was toned, like a pro bodybuilder. James envied those biceps and the six-pack on its ribs. However, his eyes soon darted toward its back. A lightning axe, similar to his own, was there. James understood that this boss would be strong. He couldn’t wait to replace his orc’s hand with its hand.
“Were they grazing?” Kaina asked.
Some of the minotaurs were grabbing nearby grass and eating it. James didn’t care much for the bizarre situation before him. He chose to challenge the boss. The boss may be huge, but James had faced worse monsters before.
“That’s our food,” James muttered.
After getting an eye on the boss monster, he scanned the field and found several elk lounging on one side of the field. Looking at the elk reminded him of the crystal deer he faced on the third floor. However, this one’s horns looked normal.
James approached the elk. When the elk and James locked eyes, it shrieked as it suddenly felt enormous hatred toward the invader of its home. Using its horns as a weapon, it leaped toward James.
James casually drew his crossbow before looking at his new coworker. He shifted his crossbow a bit further down and aimed toward its legs instead. A golden meteor seared its legs off its body, and the poor elk rolled on the grassland.
“Do you want to have a go at it?” James muttered.
Kaina and Anderson glanced toward James for a moment before rushing to the elk. Sanders was already way ahead of them as he ran toward the elk. Together, they finished it off with aplomb.
[Congratulations. You have earned 2 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 19!]
“Two coins?” James glanced at the system notification. No matter how he counted it, it was too few. He expected to get at least five coins for the kill. “I thought we split these equally. Weren’t monsters in these levels supposed to be worth around 20 or 30 coins?”
[Dungeon Floors are not made linear in difficulty. Each monster is also worth a different amount of coins and experience.]
“What the heck? What a shitty game design.” James cursed. He then looked at the elk, hoping to find something special inside. “So, what did he have?”
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
Elk’s Leg (Dexterity +40%) (Leg Slot)
Elk’s Horn (Extra Slot)
“Is that all?” James winced. No wonder this monster was only worth eight coins in total. It was a literal trash mob. But James was glad to have a food source. He didn’t have to lift a finger, as his teammates were ready to butcher it. They didn’t have basins or buckets, but James solved that issue using magic.
“Magic is amazing. How do you use magic, James?” Anderson asked.
“When you reach Level 20, an option to buy a magic core will be there. Hmm? You guys are already at Level 20, right?”
“Ah… so that’s what a mana core does. Damn… it’s so pricey…” the trio sighed.
James shrugged. “If in the future you ever consider using magic, it would be better to buy the mana core now. You can hold off on buying a principle later. For you, Anderson, the water principle would suit you best. Since you're on logistics, water can be used to clean yourself, and it can also freeze food.”
“I see. Thank you for the advice.” Anderson nodded. He then asked, “Should I buy the magic core now, or should I save up for Shop Level 2?”
“Ah. I think Shop Level 2 comes first. We should turn these corpses into coins as soon as possible.” James nodded.
After butchering the animal, they had an early lunch before James froze the meat. Unlike before, this savanna was completely flat. There were no hills or mountains like on the third floor. It didn’t take long for the minotaur group to spot James.
“They are coming this way,” Kaina muttered.
“I will take on the boss. You guys deal with the normal minotaurs.”
“Huh? There are more than twenty of them!” Anderson spat out in surprise.
“Well, if you guys can’t handle it, you can flee,” James egged them.
James was confident he could take this opponent. He had already observed his surroundings. This prairie was an open plain; there was no place to hide. He had to face them head-on.
James glanced at his teammates. Anderson had Kaina’s spear, while Sanders gripped his sword tightly. Meanwhile, Kaina equipped her new bow.
“Alright! Let’s see what you got! I am going to make a steak out of you!” James said.
Of course, it was a lie. Chimera skills consumed the entirety of the corpse. Moreover, if he ate a humanoid creature in front of his three teammates, he could be considered a cannibal.
James drew his longsword from his back and activated his new skill. A golden glow shone on his sword. Unlike Hurricane, which could only be activated by an upward slash, Vorpal Lunge could be activated using either an upward slash or a downward slash. Moreover, it also introduced a leap.
Like a speeding car, James felt a breeze on his fur as he lunged toward a minotaur using his new skill. He leaped over fifteen meters in practically an instant. The golden meteor went through one of the bull’s heads, decapitating it.
“Were weapon skills obtained differently per person?” James muttered as he noticed the difference between his weapon skills and Kouki’s.
As the humanoid-sized minotaurs surrounded him, the huge one was still at the back. But James knew that it was not a coward. It would charge anytime soon when it saw a chance.
The minotaurs that surrounded him wielded clubs or maces. James was wary of the new weapons, but they didn’t activate their weapon skills, even when James blatantly activated his axe skill before them.
“Here it comes,” James said as the enormous black minotaur charged at him. A lightning glow shone on the minotaur’s axe, and James met it head-on with his sword skill, Hurricane. The two meteors crashed into each other, sending James rolling back. Pain surged through his hand, but he quickly reoriented himself before facing the minotaur again.
Luckily, the minotaur didn’t give chase. It might be strong, but it certainly wasn’t smart. Nevertheless, the smaller ones took the momentum and swung their clubs. But without any skill, James’ armor was able to endure it.
James retaliated by swinging his lightning axe, carving a huge gash from its shoulder to its stomach.
“Hah! Take this!” Kaina released an arrow, and it hit one of the minotaurs, aggroing three of them toward the trio.
Lightning sparks came out from his axe. This time, he intended to fight fire with fire. Two meteors soon collided, and explosions burst forth from the clash. Again, James was pushed back.
“So he’s stronger than even the golem arm, huh,” James muttered.
He activated his sword skill and got rid of the henchmen that came for him while the black minotaur was lost in its bliss. The minotaur leader was prideful. It smirked mockingly when it knew that it was stronger than James.
James was calm. He still had a lot of trump cards left. He still had magic, guns, and skills. He was not a one-trick pony.
As James was about to face the minotaur boss again, a gunshot rang from a distance. Anderson had fired his gun, aiming at the minotaur's head. The minotaur roared as it clutched its eye.
James wasn’t chivalrous. He took the chance and unleashed his axe skill, Boomerang. Then, before the golden meteor hit the axe, he unleashed a sword skill, Vorpal Lunge.
The minotaur tried to defend its head from the golden meteor using its axe as a shield. Alas, without a weapon skill, such an act proved of little worth. The boss monster was knocked down as its axe flew from its hand. Then, the second golden meteor went for its head. A line of red dripped from its mouth, and soon, its head was split into two.
[Congratulations, you have earned 100 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 20. A boss has dropped a Lightning Axe.]
“The arm.” James was excited. Thanks to Anderson’s meddling, his exp was cut in half. But he no longer minded. His power didn’t merely come from levels, but from his Chimera skill as well.
[Chimera skill could not be used in combat.]
“Oh yeah, I forgot about these mobs,” James muttered.
A minotaur came toward him with its club, and as it swung, James caught it with his golem arm. He was about to kill it with a swing from his sword, but he held himself back. This was a prime opportunity to level up his team.
“Oi! Finish these guys.”
James walked to where his Lightning Axe had dropped. He punched and brawled with the smaller minotaurs that came his way, taking care not to kill them. Afterward, he sheathed his weapons on his back and chose to do everything barehanded.
“Hah? We are a team! You are supposed to help!” Anderson complained, but James shrugged.
“I already helped! Look! They are all unarmed now.” James shrugged as he brawled with another minotaur that came after him. Thanks to his stats, he could disarm them with ease.
The trio worked hard. Anderson threw Kaina’s spear back at her, and the three chose to gang up on the minotaurs using their weapon skills.
Four hours later, after the sun had set, the group had finally cleared the minotaurs that came with the boss.
“Alright, no more bosses. I want that boss’s arm,” James muttered.
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
Minotaur Leader’s Arm (STR +25%) (Arm Slot)
Minotaur Leader’s Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Minotaur Leader’s Horn (Extra Slot)
James smiled. The arm was almost as strong as his golem arm. He accepted it without hesitation. Dark motes of light spread out and consumed the black corpse of the minotaur. Soon, James could feel his arm changing. It grew a size bigger.
“Hmm…” James grasped with his new arm. From the outside, nothing seemed to have changed. James had his fur, so the minotaur’s black skin was not visible. However, James could feel power surging from his new hand.
After a while, he pondered what the system had said to him earlier. “System, what do you mean by the minotaur dropping a Lightning Axe?”
[The minotaur boss had dropped a Lightning Axe. If you claim it, it will be registered under your status screen.]
James tilted his head, wondering what the system meant by that. He could always pick up weapons from these corpses. The reason he didn’t was because he couldn’t use weapon skills with them. It took a moment before James realized what it meant.
“Ah! So you mean this Lightning Axe is treated the same as if it came from a treasure chest? I could use weapon skills with it, and it can be upgraded or repaired?”
[Yes.]
“Well, I am not going to say no to free stuff.” James went to pick up the Lightning Axe. However, he already had a longsword and a better Lightning Axe.
After looking at his status, he had 700 coins left. That offer to upgrade his shop to Level 2 grew more enticing by the day. The option to sell corpses back to the system was very tempting indeed.
“This floor was short….” James muttered as the golden portal spawned at the spot where the boss minotaur had been.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 45
Coins: 702
Stats:
STR: 145
DEX: 142
MAGIC: 98
MANA: 960
Skills:
Novice Axe Mastery Level 5 (Powerstrike, V-slash, Boomerang)
Novice Sword Mastery Level 1 (Hurricane, Vorpal Lunge)
Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
Magic:
Mind Flay
Sense Alteration
Mana Sonar
Class:
Attacker (Level 20) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑2)
Unique Skill - Chimera Level 2:
Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
Minotaur Leader’s Left Arm (STR +25%) (Left Arm Slot)
Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
Ratking's Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
Kraken’s Arm Tentacle (Reach: 5 meters, Negative Trait: STR -10%) (Extra Slot 3)
Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
Land Shark's Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
Equipment:
Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
Lightning War Axe (x2)
Longsword
Crossbow (×6)
Mask of Identity
Leather Bag
Sphere of Fethusiane
Cloak of Dark Night
Thompson Center Contender (x1)
Frag Grenade (x1)
Flashbang (x1)
