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Chapter 150 - Taking Advantage (Thank you for your support, bob!)
🕑 Added 2024-11-07 09:20:24 +0000 UTC‘Two high ranked classes truly make a difference…’
You received 200 experience points.
You completed a trial. Please choose between the classes: Archer, Spearman, and Corsair.
The choices were a bit odd this time… without considering Corsair. I already had the other two and even upgraded them. Still, I didn’t level up their skills all that much. It was a good chance to do that now and get new skills in their classes. Still, picking up the Corsair class could open new paths for me, not like I was planning to become a full-time pirate.
I stopped to think for a moment and decided to pick the Archer class. It was time to increase the multiplier of my dexterity for the first time in a long while. That certainly would open more paths for me as well.
You gain bonus experience in the skills of the Archer class.
The dexterity parameter was improved.
The Skill Rapid Fire gained five levels.
The Skill Power Shot gained five levels.
The Skill Precision Mark gained five levels.
You unlocked a new skill.
You unlocked a new skill.
Crippling Shot: Aim for the target’s legs or other weak points to slow their movement speed by 30% for 10 seconds. The shot deals with damage equal to your dexterity and strength, with a higher chance of inflicting the slow effect at higher levels. Cost: 20 Stamina.
Hawk’s Vision: Sharpen your senses to reveal hidden or distant enemies within a large radius. Hawk’s Vision also grants a temporary increase in range and accuracy for 15 seconds. Cost: 30 Mana.
I didn’t expect that Precision Mark would get experience too… Zyra didn’t explain things to me correctly, or perhaps I hadn’t asked enough. Regardless, the idea of getting old classes once more seemed more appealing now.
It wasn’t like I was using their skills now, but all the experience earned to gain them made me a lot stronger. So, soloing entire sections of labyrinths like this was no big deal anymore. Still, the boss didn’t leave any decent materials behind, so I was hoping that the next group of monsters would. It was hard to imagine what kind of skeleton monsters would leave materials behind, though.
I decided to head to the second section of the labyrinth. The previous one looked like an ordinary cavern, but that was normal for most first sections.
The second section had walls, ceiling, and floor made of bricks, so I wondered how the monsters would emerge. The previous skeletons just emerged from the ground, after all.
While I was thinking about that, I heard the sound of footsteps and then used camouflage. Then jumped to above the entrance of the floor. Using my gloves, I stuck on the wall like a spider. Soon enough, I saw a goblin passing through the area quite fast. He seemed to be in a hurry since he was crossing forty meters per second.
‘An emergency? Did they find me here?’
I wasn’t gaining more experience than usual with Sneak, so I wondered what was the real reason for it. Silent Observation was the same as ever, too.
‘A battle between clans? I can use this in my favor if it is the truth… no one will bother me while I remain in the labyrinths.’
Perhaps my luck was finally turning around. Somehow, I felt that I couldn’t be more wrong, but I could at least dream. It was still free, as far as I was concerned.
I stayed there for a while and then used camouflage again when I heard more steps. They all seemed to be in a hurry. The first party showed up after ten minutes, the second after half an hour, and then the third one hour later. No signs of the quick goblin returning.
‘I guess he must be warning all the parties in this dungeon… better to find a deadend and rest for a bit while everyone leaves.’
This kind of floor usually doesn’t have any dead ends thanks to how it looked, so I returned to the boss chamber instead. While it was the lair of a skeleton monster, I was able to relax for several hours. I couldn’t sleep that much, though.
All the parties came in a hurry, some of them even came together. It looked like an emergency… I couldn’t tell for sure, but I had a feeling that all those parties belonged to different clans.
After six hours, they stopped coming altogether. The fast goblin also came with the last party, so it confirmed that I was alone in the dungeon. That was really convenient, but nothing in life can be that easy for me, so I got curious.
‘It probably isn’t related to me, but it is bound to be related to me at some point, I guess.’
Something big was happening outside, but I still had my own things to worry about it. It wasn’t like I didn’t gotten stronger in the last eighteen months. The number of things I could do certainly had increased, but my strength only increased to a certain extent. I needed to get the battle ready again and sharpen my fangs.
I returned to the second section, and after walking a bit in it, I found the first monster blocking my way. It was another skeleton, but this one was made of copper. That made me furrow my eyebrows… never heard of a skeleton like that.
Its skeletal body emitted a faint, unnatural glow, the hollow sockets of its skull swirling with a dim, eerie light. So, the same as the others.
As it spread its arms wide, the surrounding air seemed to chill, vibrating with the sound of grinding bone. Starting from its ribcage, bones began to shift and detach with an audible crack. A jagged rib snapped free and elongated, reshaping itself into a curved, wicked blade. The spine itself twisted and extended, forming the hilt, while smaller vertebrae fused together to form a sturdy grip. The sword gleamed and looked unnaturally sharp, as though infused with the power of death itself.
Simultaneously, more bones splintered and rearranged from the skeleton’s shoulder blades and upper arms. With precision, they interlocked, forming a broad, sturdy shield. The surface of the shield retained a faint organic texture, with smaller bones creating intricate patterns that resembled the image of a screaming skull.
‘That is a neat trick… I guess I will finally get some materials.’
The creature charged at me and then soon tried to stab my head. I just easily blocked with one sword and then smashed the head of the monster with the other. Thanks to my attack speed, the monster never had the chance to react. Still, I felt a lot of resistance…
You received 20 experience points.
The creature fell on the ground and then its parts eventually shrunk until it became the size of a fist. There was no mana core left behind.
‘This isn’t a type of monster that can be found in the dungeons or labyrinths in the empire. Quite interesting…’
I found myself quite curious about the monster and how it could use such abilities. I was probably more interested in the fact of learning something new and novel. As long as they didn’t cause endless problems, I wasn’t exactly against new and unexpected experiences, after all.
I tried to check if I could use some mana to control the shape of the small piece of copper, but it didn’t react to my energy at all. Probably because it wasn’t the energy of something that came from the labyrinth.
‘Hopefully, this won’t make my time in that cave completely useless… well, I got other types of ores there, I just need to learn a way to process it or find someone to do that for me.’
The second option was probably impossible unless I paid them, which would be easy, even if they didn’t accept the type of money that I had.
Regardless, I decided to increase my pace. Even if I was alone in the dungeon, I didn’t have all the time in the world to clear it. Just like the previous sections. Only one monster showed at a time… the creatures grew stronger with each floor, though.
‘I guess this explains why the parties until now weren’t full. They only had three or four members at max.’
Labyrinths like this were great to make people get used to single combat of high level fast. I couldn’t imagine orcs, goblins and ogres using advanced tactics on the battlefield. Even if they could, they would prefer to use simple tactics like challenging the enemy commander to a duel to death, and so on. Instead of efficiency, they would rather focus on having more fun with that kind of tactic.
In any case, while fighting the enemy at close range to improve my sword skills seemed like a good idea, I stored my weapons away and then equipped my bow. It was time to use my new skills… I also needed to check how much a class could be upgraded. I didn’t know how old Zyra was, but she certainly was a veteran, and even she didn’t know that.
‘Probably because orcs, goblins, and ogres don’t find much use in teaching each other such neat secrets, but I digress.’
When the next skeleton showed up, I destroyed its legs with Crippling Shot. After that, another arrow on their head finished the job. My bow was as powerful as ever… with that extra mana that the bow granted, I also used Hawk’s vision for a bit. My eyes had improved a bit with Dexterity, but seeing my eyes getting zoomed in like a telescope for a moment scared me. Fortunately, I soon discovered that I could slow down the process, but it was a waste of mana, though.
I had never tested my range, mainly because I was always fighting in confined spaces, but I should do some tests about that when I clear this labyrinth. Perhaps I could use it against the boss… it would be interesting using arrows with several wind enchantments. Few enemies will be able to react to that.
In the end, it was a good thing to leave the cave. I felt pretty good considering those new options. Still, I didn’t regret the break that I took… I soon would come out to wish that I had done that a bit sooner, though.
