Malban Ridge, the air was hot and filled with a dusty feeling, scarping against his face with the wind raging through the various veins dug into the face of the huge mountain.
Raven's starting point was in the southern area—a passage was maybe 10 metres long ahead of his. On either side, he could see a rocky surface, crumbling earth, and strange birds clinging to the walls and cawing at him.
These were not monsters but neutral creatures that lived in this dungeon; sadly, they would neither yield experience nor loot, so Raven didn't bother with them. He was here for something else.
'It's rather quiet...' He thought, looking around at the dying flowers and weeds along the dark path—for some reason, above his head was a rocky overpass which made him feel uncomfortable that it might drop on his head. 'Is that what I'm expecting?'
He started walking down the path, his eyes glued onto the ground, ensuring he didn't trip or fall.
There was another passage off to his left. That one had a small rock formation in the middle of it. It was hard to see from where he stood, but if you looked closely, it appeared to be...
"A statue!" He exclaimed, pointing at it. "I wonder who carved it out?"
His feet carried him past the statue, through another passage, and finally, into a large cavern. The ceiling was high enough that he couldn't reach up to touch it; the area was completely dark except for the light coming from an aperture in the cavern's centre, which was just big enough to fit a person.
The place was bathed in a pale blue light, making Raven hold his huge axe ready; thanks to his dark vision and the ability to see in the dark, things were much simpler.
"Well, well, well, this is quite the entrance." He said, looking at the walls. "Curious about what's inside? Or perhaps you're just looking for a fight?"
Nobody answered, so he continued walking forward, passing a large stone pillar.
"Another statue?" He glanced at it; it seemed the same size as the one he had seen earlier.
Suddenly, there came a loud noise from the direction of the entrance.
"Oh, hello there." His voice echoed through the cavern, causing the whole place to shake, rattling the pillars and rocks.
"Wasn't expecting visitors today, so I'll have to do something about you, won't I? Have a nice time!"
Raven's body, like a cheetah, electric arcing from his feet as he rushed forward with a powerful dash, a black mist surrounding his body, his Dread Mantle protecting his body with the dark gloom as he rushed towards the group of large lizards with long snouts, sharp claws and razor teeth.
Raven used Shadow Strike, aiming at the lizard closest to him, and then used the momentum to swing his huge weapon into its neck. The black blade cleaved through the creature's scales and bone, opening a hole in its head.
The lizard fell to the floor with the sound of shattering glass, the blood pouring from the wound and covering Raven.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
"So, what do you think?" Raven asked, looking down at the dead lizard before turning to the group, numbering more than 10. "Do you want to have a go now?"
The reptiles, who had been watching Raven without saying anything, all turned their heads in unison, looking at each other, before a strange mix of guttural caws and growls, before they lunged at him, trying to tear him apart.
The first reptile missed with its lunge, missing Raven's chest by a few inches. The second hit his shoulder; with a powerful back kick, Raven sent the lizard flying backwards, slamming into the side of a pillar and cracking the stone.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
The third lizard tried to bite his leg, but Raven kicked the creature away, its body impaled on a stray spike from the ground, and a pitiful howl, before it died, choking on its blood.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
The fourth lizard lunged at him, using its tongue to draw a circle around Raven, intending to hypnotise him. Raven used Dread Mantle, drawing a barrier of darkness between him and the reptile, and then used Shadow Strike, slicing through its head with a loud crack.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
A little smarter than the others, the fifth lizard stood a little behind the others, waiting for his chance; when Raven walked too close, it started moving and thrust its long, black tongue out at him, intending to pierce his throat.
But Raven stepped forward, tilting his neck to counterattack, slicing through the lizard's arm before kicking the creature and sending it rolling away, where the sixth lizard leapt onto Raven's back and bit his shoulder.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
Raven's mouth released a roar of delight, his keen eyes watching as a sharp pain shot through his body, as the creature clung to him before using his great axe to slice off its arm at the elbow and sending it rolling to the ground.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
Despite the thick mantle, a slight cut was formed, nothing dangerous, so he used his strength to push his momentum forwards and stab the lizard in the eye with his black blade, dropping the reptile to the floor and leaving a pool of blood around it.
[Gained 50 Experience, 25 credits]
Raven used Shadow Strike again, taking down two more. A cruel trail of dark shadows flowed from his axe's edge as they dropped without lives.
[Gained 100 Experience, 50 credits]
Then, he jumped forwards and smashed another into its fellow, breaking both its skulls, the sounds of shattering skull bones filling the cavern.
Raven landed heavily on the ground, looking around to check if anyone else wanted a try.
Silence greeted him sadly... his breath was not even fast, nor was his heart racing. The new changes in his body were too amazing; even when he let himself get hurt, the wound closed in less than a second.
He felt no impact from these level 21 beasts in a pack, causing him to feel more confident.
'Imagine needing a party to clear this dungeon... forced to split the credits by 4 or even 5...'
[...]
-> You have Levelled up!
Now level 30!
"Ah, great... close to middle-aged..."
[Your current life expectancy is 300 years... barely a child!]
'Tsk...'
-> Increase Attributes
-> Upgrade Skills
-> Upgrade Class (Warning Battle Will Commence! Level 38 recommended!)
·?θm Raven stood for a moment, taking the items from the corpses worth money, his body no longer wearing the bodysuit as always—only the lower half was worn.
In contrast, his upper body was naked, tight muscles a perfect culture, but he was currently slicing a piece of the armour and his chest, over and over with an amazed face.
"My chest... is stronger than the armour... Oh my god...."
[...]
'Let's see... I'll boost my attributes for now... the raw boost is nice...'
He quickly opened his [Status] to check the rise, happy to see that this gate seemed to prioritise his intellect and wisdom, but at the same time, all other attributes increased slightly.
"Wait..."
->Level: 30
-> Class: Dread Knight (Lord of the 13th Seat)
-> Experience: 170/3,000
Strength: 10.5
Agility: 7.5
Stamina: 10.2
Vitality: 11.4
Intellect: 6.2
Wisdom: 6.3
"Why does it take 3,000 experience to level suddenly!? What bullshit over-the-top spike is that!!!!"
[Did you think it would remain so easy to grow? When you hit 50, it will be 50,000 to reach level 51...]
[Why do you think S ranks are so rare?]
"Oh... yeah... right...."
He knew it would get harder, but Raven misunderstood his parent's words as the monsters would get stronger or dungeons harder when it was both those things and the added factor of needing to kill even more monsters to get 1 level.
'I need to plan my future levels; sometimes attributes won't be the best... and the new skill at level 40 might be something truly special..'
Now that he got a wake-up call, it was time to massacre the dungeon...
One orc
One axe
Only extinction followed.
Raven was now covered in flesh, blood and dirt. Some of the damn lizards played dirty, hiding in the walls and flung dirt or crap in his eyes, yet even when they bit his throat—the damage was minimal.
So he got a little lazy...
He took blows when he should dodge them before he realised how stupid he was after a huge alligator the size of a small car smashed into his chest with its tail and almost cracked his ribs.
Thanks to that, he was left with a black bruise on his perfect almond skin after being relentlessly mocked by the old man.
Malban Ridge was almost over for him, only the strange stairway leading to a slightly raised platform in the centre where the boss was probably sleeping.
'Let's do this... I need some sweet exp and more credits!'
-> Experience: 2,970/3,000
-> Credits: 6,115 (1,440 Lilith's Pocket Money, 1,600 Harem pocket Money)
He managed to kill a total of 112 lizards and alligators, all giving the same credits and experience, which caused him to feel a little exhausted and annoyed there were no more monsters.
For some reason, even after 1 hour, they didn't respawn!
"Cheap ass dungeon...!"
[...]
Somehow ignoring that, he earned 5,600 credits for doing something so simple... Raven's sense of money was never the strongest, only making sure the bills were paid and food could be eaten, so now he gained so much.
It was overwhelming.
The idea of so much money was beyond him.
Alas, he forgot this thought stepping up those dark stone steps with a sense of excitement in his chest.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m