The first thing Jared did was take a look at his new titles. He wanted to see what that was all about.

Spelljammer - Granted for making a spellcaster kill or injure at least 10 of its allies by interrupting its cast.

When Title is active: +10% damage dealt to spellcasters. Increased to +30% if the spellcaster is in the middle of casting a spell

When Title is inactive: +1% damage dealt to spellcasters

May all mages tremble before you

He stared, dumbfounded for a moment. That boost was far above anything he had seen so far. For comparison, his Marksmanship Skill, if it kept growing at its current rate, would only give a 26% bonus to his damage at (Masterful X), the supposed maximum level. And if all spellcasters were as dangerous as that shaman, or even nearly so, this title had the potential to be a massive boon. He wasn’t sure what it meant by the Title being active or inactive, but he kept reading in case it showed up later. The system didn’t seem particularly stingy about giving information about itself.

Offensive Powerhouse(+) - Granted for defeating 10 or more creatures more than 10 levels higher than yourself. Upgraded for doing this while avoiding any mortal or crippling injuries.

When Title is active: +15% damage dealt to creatures of a higher level than you, -10% damage dealt to creatures of a lower level than you

When Title is inactive: +15% damage dealt to creatures of a lower level than you, -10% damage dealt to creatures of a higher level than you

May you topple giants and slaughter armies.

At your current Ascension, you may have one(1) Title active at a time. You may not switch your active Title during combat.

Again, the sheer scale of what he was being offered boggled his mind. Sure, there was a tradeoff, but the Title was powerful whether he had it active or not. And in this dungeon, where everything was going to be much higher leveled than him, it was a godsend.

That triggered another thought. Are there gods in this world? It wasn’t too much of a stretch, considering there was magic. He added it to the list of things to ask about when he found civilization.

Refocusing on his profile, he activated Offensive Powerhouse(+). He had gotten very lucky with the goblins, and couldn’t rely on things like that happening with any degree of regularity. Anything that would give him a meaningful advantage was worth it, and he had absolutely no idea if there even were any more casters in the dungeon.

Turning to his stats, he considered where to put his new points.

Stats:

Free points: 6(ALA or PRO)

Physique: 8

* Physical: 6

* Magical: 2

Alacrity: 9

* Physical: 5

* Mental: 4

Projection: 6

* Evocation: 3

* Manipulation: 3

If he recalled the descriptions correctly, Alacrity gave him physical and mental speed, and Projection helped him interact with the world, whatever that meant. Alacrity seemed to be most immediately helpful, but he had to think of the future as well. He couldn’t help but think that Projection, despite seeming ephemeral, could be vitally important down the line.

Something else he had been pushing to the back of his mind took its chance to surface. He had limited ammunition for his guns, which were his best way of killing monsters right now. He was down to 19 rounds for his sidearm and 27 rounds for his rifle. He would need a way to either make or purchase new ammo, and he hadn’t seen any evidence of even industrial-level technology. Aside from the system, that was, but he wasn’t sure it counted.

That meant that if he wanted to keep using his guns, he had to figure out how to make his own bullets. Based on the description given by the system, that would fall under the purview of Projection.

Splitting the difference, he put 4 points in Alacrity and 2 points into Projection. Confirming his selection, he felt warmth flow through his body like a hot cup of cocoa on a cold day.

Name: Jared Moore

Primary Class: Offensive Powerhouse Marksman Lv. 7

Auxiliary Class: N/A

Ascension: Basic

Stats:

Free points: 0

Physique: 8

* Physical: 6

* Magical: 2

Alacrity: 13

* Physical: 7

* Mental: 6

Projection: 8

* Evocation: 4

* Manipulation: 4

Skills:

Primary Class(3/10)

* Marksmanship(Exceptional I)

* Stalking(Skilled IV)

* Trap Detection(Proficient I)

Auxiliary Class(0/5)

General(1/10)

* Identify(Unskilled I)

Titles:

* Spelljammer

* Offensive Powerhouse(+)[Active]

Nodding to himself, he dismissed the system and started investigating the rest of the chamber. The only things of note that the goblins had on them were the shaman’s staff and a shortsword that the packleader had. Neither was anything special, but they were workable equipment, and the shortsword had a lot more reach than his dagger, so he held onto them.

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The rest of the cavern was mostly barren, aside from the glowing crystals that haphazardly protruded from every surface. There was another exit opposite the entrance, and after deciding this room had nothing left to offer, he collected his spent bullet casings, then exited the cavern, finding another long tunnel. It led a mostly straight course, continuing steadily downwards at a slight angle. He walked for several minutes without encountering anything other than more traps.

At first, it was just tripwires placed at various heights. The first variation came as he stepped across a tripwire, and felt the ground give slightly. He heard a click, and threw himself forward as his instincts screamed that he was in danger. As he rolled to his feet, he turned, finding the hallway as it had been. Confused, he pushed down on the pressure plate with his hand, making sure to stay low to the ground. Above him, a blade silently sliced across the hallway, right at where his head would be if he had been standing.

It moved quickly, but it didn’t seem as fast as the one that had killed the goblin. Despite that, it should have been fast enough to take his head off, given that he had stepped squarely on the pressure plate. Shaking his head, he turned and kept heading down the hall, feeling out each step to find pressure plates before he put his full weight down. It slowed him down substantially, but proved its worth not a minute later when he felt the floor give slightly. Moving his foot around, he found the edges of the plate, and moved beyond it.

Skill Trap Detection Upgraded from (Proficient I) to (Proficient II)

Smiling to himself, he continued, finding it slightly easier to spot the traps in his way. Finally, the hall came to an end, terminating in a sturdy wooden door. It looked weathered, but not decayed, and had iron bands reinforcing it. There was no keyhole, and the seams where individual boards met were airtight, leaving no gaps for him to peer through to try and assess what waited on the other side.

Finding no other solutions, he grasped the handle, inching the door open to peek through. From what he could see, it was another large, well-lit cavern, and had a body of water towards the back. He couldn’t immediately see any creatures, so he cautiously eased the door all the way open and stepped through, shortsword at the ready. Aside from the large body of water at the other end, the room seemed empty, aside from more glowing crystals to provide light.

A thought struck him, and he peered closely at a nearby crystal, studying every facet. It shined with a steady, sky blue light, neither flickering nor shifting in color. A moment later, the system rewarded his study.

Mana Crystal - These crystals are an impure form of mana that grow in mana-saturated areas, such as dungeons. The color of the glow indicates elemental impurities present within the mana. Useful as a light source and in many forms of crafting.

Skill Identify upgraded from (Unskilled I to Unskilled II)

Interesting. I should make sure to gather some of these, assuming they aren’t too heavy or difficult to remove. Could come in handy later.

Before that, he needed to make sure the area was safe. He had run into surprisingly few monsters, considering the dungeon’s overpopulated status.That kept him on edge, as it seemed like the dungeon was trying to lull him into a false sense of security.

Walking a little closer to the pond, he tried to peer in, but saw nothing but blackness, indicating either immense depth, supernatural forces at work, or both.

There’s no way there isn’t a monster in here. I imagine it’s waiting for things to come up and drink, then will strike.

Looking around, he didn’t find any loose stones, so he pulled out one of his spent bullet casings and tossed it into the pool. If he needed to reuse them, he would have one less, but that was better than being ambushed. Almost immediately after the casing hit, the surface of the water exploded, large crocodilian jaws snapping shut around the casing.

Skill Trap Detection Upgraded from (Proficient II) to (Proficient III)

Seemingly disappointed at the lack of a meal in its mouth, the creature looked around, its eyes locking on Jared. Instantly it charged at him, not even slowing slightly as it emerged from the water.

It was about three meters long, and about his height, standing on four legs. Despite the crocodilian shape of its jaws, its whole body was covered in short, dark gray fur. As it approached Jared, it spun, swinging a massive, club-like tail at him. He barely managed to roll beneath the attack as glowing words appeared just above the monster.

[Subterranean Afanc](lvl 15)

It was a lower level than the leaders of the goblins, but he didn’t doubt it would have been able to massacre the whole dozen he had fought. It gave off a palpable feeling of danger that sent shivers down his spine and sent adrenaline surging through his veins. Seemingly unfazed at missing with its tail, it finished its spin, bringing its jaws around to snap at him. He threw himself to the side, but the afanc was slightly faster than him with his rucksack on, and he couldn’t completely avoid it. The ceramic ballistic plate protecting his chest cracked, but took the brunt of the damage, and his rucksack protected his back.

The afanc shook its head, trying to tear his flesh, and Jared heard something crack loudly behind him. He didn’t know if it was something in the monster’s face or his equipment, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. He slashed at it with his sword, but with it swinging him around, he couldn’t get a good enough swing to penetrate its thick furry hide. Changing tack, he aimed his sword through its jaws at the roof of its mouth, and gauging the way it thrashed, he paused for a moment, then thrust with as much strength as he could muster.

He had timed it so that the afanc threw its momentum against his strike, causing it to sink deeply into the creature’s throat. His aim had been thrown slightly off, turning what could have been a mortal wound into a serious one. The creature reeled back with a screech, letting go of Jared as blood flooded its mouth. Unfortunately for Jared, this threw him across the cave to slam into the wall. The air was driven from his lungs, and he heard another crack from behind him. Definitely his equipment this time.

Better that than my spine.

Rolling to his side, he tried to catch his breath while he kept an eye on the afanc. It shook its head to and fro, backing up quickly, like a cat with something on its head.

It must be trying to shake the sword loose. Good luck with that.

After a few moments, he finally was able to take a breath in, coughing violently. He shakily stood, then pulled out his sidearm, taking aim as he steadied his breathing. There was no way he was getting closer to that thing if he could help it.

It was then that the creature realized it wasn’t going to be able to get rid of the weapon in its mouth so easily, so it turned back to the prey that caused it harm. Jared squeezed off two shots as it charged, then leapt to the side. As he was in the air, he brought his gun around to aim at the afanc’s head. For a moment, time seemed to slow as he lined up the shot and fired his last bullet.

As soon as he hit the trigger, time returned to normal, and landed hard on his side. Quickly rolling to his feet, he turned to the afanc, but it lay unmoving, blood leaking from the hole where his bullet had taken it through the eye. A wave of exhaustion crashed over him as the system registered his victory.

[Subterranean Afanc](lvl 15) Slain!

EXP gained!

Level Up!

You have free stat points to assign.

Skill Unlocked! Desperate Marksman’s Concentration(Unskilled I)

Desperate Marksman’s Concentration(Unskilled I) - Gain greatly increased concentration in a moment of desperation. When down to your final projectile(arrow, bullet, etc.), just before firing, grants a period of greatly enhanced concentration, allowing for greater accuracy and damage. Effect time increased and stamina cost lowered slightly per level in the Skill

May you always make the last shot count

Skill Marksmanship upgraded from (Exceptional I) to (Exceptional II)

Title Gained: Eye Hunter

Eye Hunter - Granted for repeatedly hitting creatures more than 5 levels above you in the eye.

Effect when active: When you aim at the eye of a creature, you are 5% more likely to hit and your attack deals 10% more damage

Effect when inactive: When you hit a creature anywhere other than the eye with an attack, it deals 5% less damage. The eyes of creatures you kill take on magical properties, enabling them to be used in a variety of ways

Title Gained: Avenger

Avenger - Granted for saving the life of a sentient creature, and slaying the beast that killed its family.

Effect: The creature you saved will be friendly to you.

This title may gain other effects, depending on your choices.

What the..?