As William made his way out of the chamber, Forlune nudged Thorian. "Was it a good idea to show him the entrance to the abyss?"
"It was a gesture of goodwill," Thorian sighed. "By revealing the abyss to him, I made it clear that if they become our vassals, we will treat them no differently than our own people."
"I understand," Forlune nodded, before glancing back at the door through which William had exited. "I just hope they're not ungrateful."
With that, Thorian's attention returned to the portal of the abyss. Smiling, he thought, The next few floors are ice-themed. They shouldn't pose a problem given my elemental resistances and fire magic.
"Well then, let's get started," Thorian said as he led his team toward the portal, just before receiving a notification.
The Abyss welcomes those who dare to challenge its depths.
You will be teleported to the sixteenth floor of the abyss. Do you accept?
I do, Thorian responded internally, before being transported to the abyss alongside the rest of his team.
Upon opening his eyes, Thorian could feel the snowy wind brushing against his body. Thanks to his resistances and high stats, the blizzard's full force was mitigated. To him, it felt like standing in a slightly chilly breeze.
"Oh, this feels good," Zogarth groaned as he stretched. "We've finally left that cramped room. I had to contort myself just to fit."
"I feel bad for you," Forlune chuckled. "At your size, every task becomes a challenge. We need to refit every important room to accommodate you."
While the two were joking around with each other, Thorian’s focus was on the floor quest.
[Welcome to the sixteenth floor of the abyss.
To clear this floor, complete the floor quest
Floor Quest Description Eliminate all the attacking ice direwolves. Rewards
60000 Experience Points.
30000 Arcane Coins.
"Seems like we're back to just simple elimination quests," Thorian commented as he glanced at the notification.
"That's a good thing," Forlune grinned, unsheathing his sword. "Simple and exciting, much better than those annoying puzzles."
As he spoke, dozens of ice direwolves materialized around them. Without hesitation, Vigil blessed Zogarth and Forlune with a golden aura, while Aqua and Thorian received a silver one. Thorian knew immediately that Vigil's blessing enhanced the efficacy of his spells and imbued him with extra mana.
Simultaneously, the direwolves howled in unison, creating a massive blizzard that engulfed the area and reduced visibility. However, Thorian wasn't hindered. Using his Predator’s Gaze and Elemental Sight, he could still clearly see the direwolves as if it were a clear day.
Flame Fury.
Raising his staff, Thorian summoned five massive fireballs and launched them at the approaching direwolves, incinerating them in an explosion of flames. The shockwave was so powerful that it cleared an area of the snowy storm, providing his team with much-needed vision.
Seizing the opportunity, Zogarth, emanating a red and black aura, cleaved through any direwolf that dared to stand in his way. Forlune, moving swiftly from one direwolf to another, slashed their throats with ruthless efficiency.
Meanwhile, Aqua fired ice spears, impaling any direwolf that emerged. Thorian, on the other hand, continuously launched massive fireballs, decimating his foes.
Soon, notifications flooded in.
Floor Quest Cleared
Reward Distributed
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Do you wish to continue to the seventeenth floor?
Seeing the level-up notifications, Thorian smiled. He then decided to check his status window.
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Display Panel.
Ding
Race Elemental Lord Kobold Level 18/45 (EXP: 71098/120000) Class Elemental High-Magus Level 2/50 (EXP: 90000/105000) Lifespan 70 years Cultivation Realm Qi Gathering Seventh Stage (2.7%) Stats Strength 169 Agility 184 Constitution 159 Mana 178 Qi 200 Free Points 70
Looking at his Free Points, Thorian smiled. It's a good thing I didn't have to use them while fighting against Nalia. At this point, I'm 40 points away from reaching 200 in all of my main stats. Just a few more levels, and I would gain a new skill.
After checking his status panel, Thorian and the rest of the party progressed through the remaining floors. The seventeenth floor awarded them 70,000 experience points, the eighteenth floor 80,000, and the nineteenth floor 90,000. With the triple experience boost factored in, the numbers were astonishing.
Upon completing the quest on the eighteenth floor, Thorian accumulated enough Free Points for all his stats to reach 200 points. The moment he allocated his stats, he acquired the skill: "Master of Growth."
Requirement Fulfilled: New Skill Unlocked
Master of Growth Description Your unparalleled dedication and adaptive learning style have culminated in an extraordinary capability for personal development. This skill enhances your natural talent for learning, allowing you to master new skills 20% faster than before. Furthermore, each time you level up, you receive 2 additional Free Points, empowering you to tailor your growth and fortify your strengths or mitigate your weaknesses more effectively. Proficiency MAX
After completing the quest on the nineteenth floor, Thorian's group decided to take a moment to recuperate.
"Man, I think I'm in love," Forlune grinned, gazing at the notifications before him. "I level up at least once every time we clear a floor in the abyss. If I tried to gain the same amount of experience points in dungeons, I'd have to wait for days."
"It's indeed becoming addicting," Zogarth nodded. "The pace of progress here is unlike anything we've ever experienced. I wonder if it will continue this way."
"It depends on how you look at it," Thorian replied. "Once we clear the twentieth floor, the abyss will change. First off, the team size will be reduced to just three, and we'll also have to wait a day after clearing a floor before moving on to the next one."
"I knew there had to be some catch," Forlune clicked his tongue. "Still, we've grown immensely stronger in these first twenty floors, and a pace of one floor a day would still net us better experience points than doing dungeons."
"You're talking as if we've already cleared the twentieth floor," Zogarth retorted with a chuckle.
Hearing that, Forlune shrugged. "I'd be more surprised if we weren't able to do it."
While the two were conversing, Thorian decided to check his status panel.
Display Panel
Ding
Race Elemental Lord Kobold Level 23/45 (EXP: 11098/215000) Class Elemental High-Magus Level 7/50 (EXP: 120000/195000) Lifespan 70 years Cultivation Realm Qi Gathering Seventh Stage (2.7%) Stats Strength 206 Agility 206 Constitution 204 Mana 202 Qi 200 Free Points 38
Seeing his newly improved stats, Thorian grinned. I leveled up twice on this floor and gained 4 additional Free Points. It seems the 'Master of Growth' skill also works with my race levels. When you add the fact that it gives me an additional 20% acceleration in my skill mastery, it becomes the perfect skill for me.
Considering these last Free Points, Thorian decided to allocate them to his main stat.
Mana: 202 -> 240
Looking at his mana stat, Thorian was satisfied. "Now that I have reached the 200-point mark, I can finally condense my mana into a mana heart. However, that will have to wait for later."
Thorian then turned back to his team and said, "Shall we challenge this twentieth floor?"
"I think I've had enough rest," Forlune stretched his arms before grinning. "I also finished distributing my stats. I feel like a new man now."
"Same here," Aqua chimed in. "My mana is fully refilled from the level-ups."
With a nod to his teammates, Thorian looked back at the notification.
Do you wish to continue to the twentieth floor?
Warning: The next floor contains a boss monster.
I do.