Now in camo cargo pants, a black tank top, combat boots, my hair tied in a ponytail and a large sheathed dagger on my arm, the dagger was gifted to me by a once renowned master blacksmith. I made my way back down the long corridor that was the entrance of the dungeon. We did not explore much of the first floor of the dungeon when we came down the first time. We only killed a small handful of low level beasts and made our way back up top. So I will still be going in mostly blind.
Arriving at the end of the long hallway I look out into the well lit night time wonder of the dungeon and feeling myself grow stronger as I let the influence of the night take hold. I grab my ponytail and look at my hair as it begins to shift in color from a chestnut brown into a silver white but stops part way in the transition showing that the night will not give me the maximum benefit from my skill and racial skills.
Looking up to the sky, I admired the clear sky. It's hard to see this many stars in the night sky on earth anymore with how much light pollution there is now. It is something I do miss about the premodern world.
Taking a deep breath I take a step forward and flash forward. Running through the grove of trees I come to see more of the residents of the forest. Most of which looking like normal forest creatures but sometimes with slight differences. For example there was an odd looking deer with two heads and two sets of antlers. It looked rather goofy but it also was a bit bigger than a normal deer.
Almost all of the beasts I could identify were between level 10 and 40. Some of which being on either side of that number but they were far and few in between. That was until I found what I believe is what Gareena said was an apex predator which was well deserving of its name.
While I was sitting on the branch of one of the taller trees of the forest I saw it. There was a black blob blocking the sight of the starry sky behind it. As it came closer to me I saw its feathers glinting off the moon light and there it was a golden eagle the size of a bi-plane. Watching it fly was majestic and it lightly glided through the night. Then in an instant it dove down and picked up a bear whole flew up higher and higher with the bear fighting it the whole time. Once it leveled out well into the night sky it flew over the cleaning next to me and let the bear drop. The bear accelerated much faster than it should have. Most likely have to do something with skill. It hit the ground with a bone shattering crunch in front of me. How it was not paste on the ground had to also be a skill. The giant eagle dropped down some and flew circles around the area. After a time it went down to claim its prize. It picked the bear back up and flew right by meIfelt the wind from its mighty wing flaps. It then made its way further into the forest back towards a group of mountains in the distance.
As it flew by me with its prize I managed to get an identify off on it and what I read sent shivers down my spine.
Level: 107
Race: Sky Lord Eagle
Highest class: Mountain Avian level: 34
Titles: Apex Predator of Floor 1
The strongest leveled beast of the first floor was half again my level and it was only the first floor. Yes all but a few of the residents of this floor I have seen so far were less than half its level but that does not matter. If the apex predator of the floor is that level what was the floor guardian’s level 200?!?!? This is the first floor and the power level is already so high. I feel Gareena might have been generous with our ability to survive if Esmeralda shows up. Unless she is much stronger than I thought.
Well all this tells me is that I need to start spending every extra moment I have killing anything I can get my hands on. With this in mind I dropped from my perch among the giant tree and began to bathe myself in blood.
I looked around to find my first victim. It doesn't matter what it is. If it breathes I will kill it, and my first target was one of the two-headed deer. Curious, I identified it.
Level: 36
Race: Two headed buck
Highest class: Horned Fighter level: 8
Using moonlight step I Teleported next to the buck. But not being used to the skill both the use of it and the noticeable drain on my stamina, I stumbled. But before the two headed deer could do anything about something appearing next to it I pulled my dagger and quickly relieved it of its heads. Take a moment to think about my skills and the power that they hold. I decided it would be best to try and use them only to kill things. Not only would I be using my class skills more which based on what Gareena said would help me level faster but I can see the power in skills and I need to level them.
With my first target dead I moved to find my next victim. This went on for some time. While I was making a river of blood Shooting star shots and using Moonlight Step I was also doing my best to explore the first floor of the dungeon. But for the most part it was nothing but trees and the ever present mountain range in the background. After a time and many many dead bodies I found myself in front of a perfectly clear lack reflecting the light of the moon. There were a handful of beasts drinking from the lake but none of them went in the water for more than a drink and nothing attacked anything else, me included. This itself was slightly odd. Because though this is a dungeon it also seemed to be a self sustaining ecosystem.
Walking closer to the lake I was greeted with one of these system notifications.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
[You have entered the crystal lake of peace no violence is permitted here]
Hmm interesting it seemed to be one of the safe zones Gareena said was in the dungeon. But I guess this safe zone is for more than just those visiting the dungeon. Taking note of where the lake is, I moved north toward the mountains in the back. As I went further into the dungeon I noticed a slight increase in the level of the beast that I killed and saw. Instead of 10 to 40 they were 30 to 60 in level. This was a bit of a relief. It means that the gap between the apex predator of the floor and the normal beast is not so large it will take a large amount of time to get the levels to take it down. It would also be safe to assume that the closer we get to the mountains the higher the level range will be. It is also safe to assume that is where the Floor guardian is and the path to the second floor.
Nodding to myself I went straight towards the mountain range in the distance. As expected the levels did go up reaching the low 80s by the time I got close to the base of the mountain. Looking around I quickly found the path to the next floor and the monstrous beast guarding it. It was a giant cave lit much like the entrance once. The cave had to be at least 40 feet tall and the same wide. In front of it was a massive bear the size of a smile house with antlers lying down in front of the cave. I identified it and a cold sweat ran down my back. And I thought to myself we are all screwed.
Level: 158
Race: Forest Guardian (Bear)
Highest class: Bulwark of the Forest level: 52
Title: Guardian of Floor One
In a way I guess it makes sense the guardian has to be the highest level thing on the floor but still. It was over double my level on the first floor. I don't know exactly how many levels there are in the dungeon but if I Focus I can feel how deep the dungeon goes and it has to be somewhere near 100 floors. Depending on the level curve of the beast that resides in the dungeon we could be looking at floor guardians in the level range of 10,000, maybe even more.
While I might beagle to best this floor guardian and that is a big might, there is no group of humans short of maybe dropping a bomb on the floor guardian that could hope to take it down right now. I feel a tank would just become a chew toy for this beast.
Time tables need to move. I will have to take the combat crew into the dungeon now rather than waiting for them when they are ready. I will use it as part of their training. Things are going to get really bad really fast.
Turning around I made my way back to the entrance to the dungeon once again leaving a river of blood in my wake.
Once I reached the entrance and felt the power of the night drain from my body I looked over the list of notification I got from my killing spree
Midnight’s Perfect Assassin has leveled up 4→15 +44 strength +66 agility +22 constitution
+66 dexterity +44 stamina +33 intelligence +33 free stats.
Wow, that was a lot more level than I was expecting. But then again I do have a lot of experience bonuses. Maybe there is more of a chance than I thought. Lets see what my skill level ups look like
Assassin’s Creed Has leveled up 2→3
Child of the Night (Advanced) Has leveled up 3→ 14
Draconic Alignment (Advanced) Has Leveled up 1→2
Enriched Experience (Advanced) Has leveled up 1→2
Eternal Student (Advanced) Has Leveled up 1→2
Identify (Basic) Has Leveled up 3→8
Moonlight Step (Epic) Has leveled up 1→8
Nature’s Blessed (Advanced) Has leveled up 1→ 2
Presence of an Ancient (Epic) Has leveled up 3→5
Star Shoot (Advanced) Has leveled up 2→7
Well if nothing else tonight has been rather fruitful for my level and skills. Taking a quick look at just my state sheet I gasped slightly.
Name: Viviana Justina Ioannou
Tittles: Dungeon keeper of The Forest of Stars
Level: 123
Age: 2135
Race: Ancient Vampire
Stats:
Strength: 107
Agility: 161
Constitution: 95
Dexterity: 169
Stamina: 118
intelligence: 98
Wisdom: 68
Free stats: 45
I have almost doubled my level since this system came to earth and it has not been 2 weeks yet. My racial skill must be putting in a lot of work here. Because this is too easy though I guess the beast is not far from my more original level but still. Still I should get less experience for how easy it is.
I was higher level now than the floor one apex predator. So I guess my leveling speed will most likely slow quite a bit from this point on. Then I thought back to what Gareena said and shuddered. I would not be enough for the dungeon break even with 10 years of work. Steeling myself I worked my way back up the entrance to notice that night slowly fading into day. Looking down at my once pristine clothes that were now soaked with blood I sighed and made my way to my bathroom to clean up and organize my thoughts for the meeting happening in a few short hours.