As soon as Nathan's sword made contact with the crown, a flash of light enveloped the pit. An unseen force blasted him away. He was flung through the air like a rag doll, his body bouncing off the ground several times before it came to a stop. When he finally did, he let out a weak grin.

Bone Armor (II) dispelled

Clearance requirement met: Dungeon unlocked.

Dungeon cleared: Dungeon rewards available

"Rest In Peace Lich"

Nathan couldn't help but laugh at how his knowledge of liches had saved his life. He certainly wasn't going to be able to go another round with the lich in his condition; his health was way below 25%.

A very intense feeling of euphoria enveloped him as he contemplated how busted up he was, his wounds closing up and his health going back to max levels. His mind felt refreshed, and his body felt like he'd just jumped on his couch after spinning signs.

This, this is what Heaven must feel like.

All too soon the feeling was gone, but he didn't really get to dwell on that as a chest dropped on the floor a few feet away from him, causing Nathan to forget about the loss of euphoria.

As he walked, he kept his mind blank on the possibilities of what could be in the chest. The system had pretty much toyed with his emotions on the last two dungeons he'd run, so he was going to take this a lot slower.

Flipping open the chest, Nathan was glad that he'd kept his mind blank. The item in the chest gave him a lot more joy than if he'd actually expected it. In the wooden chest on a velvet pillow lay a sword, just like the one he currently wielded, just nicer, sturdier, and sharper-looking.

Holyyyyy

Picking up the blade, Nathan couldn't help but marvel at its composition compared to his current sword in his other hand. This one just beat his old sword at everything that could be used to compare swords. The weight was still off, but it was definitely better than his first sword. It was a lot sharper too, from the looks of it. He needed to find out exactly what this sword was, so he analyzed it.

Sword [Common (B-grade)]

Nathan whistled at the information on the sword. Common grade - B might not be much, but it was a hell of a jump from a Common F-grade to that. He briefly wondered what a legendary sword was supposed to look like before he dismissed the thought.

No point thinking about what I can't have.

Loot claimed, dungeon destabilizing in 3 minutes, all entities should exit the dungeon before the dungeon collapses into Ra'hal.

Huh, the system gave me more time.

The addition of a minute to the collapse countdown wasn't something Nathan really expected. But considering the fact that he'd almost died fighting the lich, it might've just been the system giving him some time to mentally patch himself up before heading out.

As far as he was concerned, he didn't need the one minute. So with one last look at the lich that now became a pile of broken bones, Nathan rushed out of the dungeon, a sword in both hands.

The purple sky illuminated the forest as Nathan turned around and began to walk, not even waiting to see how the dungeon collapsed. Something like that only amazed for a while before it became redundant. He walked for quite a bit, heading towards Blood Rock, when he came to a conclusion.

This isn't working.

Walking while holding two swords that is. Eventually, one would have to go into his sheath and the other in his bag of holding. He just had to figure out which. Nathan was a rational person; his old sword was still in good condition, so he didn't really see any need to swap it out for the new one.

Yes, the new one was better in every aspect, but he wasn't expecting any monster that was going to require him to break out his new sword. So that made the decision clear. Whipping out his bag of holding, he put the sword in and was about to put the bag back in his pockets when he heard something hop behind him.

Please be a frog or a kangaroo even.

Nathan's wishes weren't meant to be because when he located the source of the noise, he realized that it was the bunny, the stalker bunny. The rabbit had done enough to earn that title right about now with the way it kept finding him after his dungeon runs.

He stared at the bunny who stared back at him with its cute and cuddly eyes, but of course, Nathan knew better than to believe the facade. The damned thing had tried to bite his head off but had failed woefully and now it was here, probably waiting on him to give it some of his fruit. He wanted to walk away, but the last time he'd tried that, the damned rabbit had tried following him till he settled it. He might as well just let it have some fruit and save himself the stress.

[Neran Rabbit

Level 16.]

The damned thing had leveled up. Nathan wanted to pretend like he didn't know how something that little and cute could level up so fast, but he'd seen what the bunny could do firsthand.

"You think you're so special because you leveled up, guess what? I leveled up too!"

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Nathan hated himself as the words left his mouth, but they were true. Any third party would've found it weird that he was out in a forest competing with a damned bunny, but there was nothing normal about this bunny. Keeping an eye on the bunny, he called up his stat screen.

Status

A series of notifications filled the screen and Nathan quickly went through them.

Level Up! 16 -> 17

Level Up! 17 -> 18

Level Up! 18 -> 19

Level Up! 19 -> 20

Congratulations New Imprint acquired - Wrong Underdog.

Wrong Underdog - slay a foe five or more levels above you solo. [+5% Willpower]

Nathan couldn't believe his eyes. Not only had he gained four levels for killing the Lich, but he'd also earned a new Imprint. Talk about a cherry on the cake. Although if he was being honest, Nathan wouldn't really say battling the lich had given him four levels as he'd already been on the cusp of level 17 before their fight. With a smile on his face, he checked out the screen he'd initially requested.

Name: Nathan Orion

Moniker: N/A

Level: 20

Archetype: Blood Berserker

Class: Blood Pawn

Imprints: Balls of Steel, Skull Crusher, Bronze-Dungeoneer, Wrong-Underdog

Strength: 21

Dexterity: 12

Vitality: 11

Constitution: 14

Perception: 10

Dao: N/A

Ra'hal coins: 16,790

Free points: 8

Eight free points.

He grinned at the number. Eight points wasn't much, but it'd allow him the chance to address other areas he'd neglected for his strength. He would've waited to get home before allocating points, but there was nothing wrong with doing it now, especially if he was just alone with the bunny that wouldn't attack him unless he went after it.

Okay, let's see which of you buggers need the most points.

Nathan glossed through his stats one by one, no longer the naive level one berserker. He now knew which stats were more important to him at this point. He'd been in enough battles to know which stats could turn the tide in the blink of an eye and which stats were more of a luxury at this point.

Strength

Constitution

Vitality

Perception

Dexterity

That was the priority order for Nathan. Strength was his most obvious choice as it'd saved him more times than he could count. Constitution was fast becoming a crucial stat the more he fought; it meant he could take more hits while receiving less damage, something that a berserker like him would highly benefit from.

Vitality was nowhere close to constitution for Nathan. The stat was only useful with an enhanced constitution; on its own, it was nothing more than a fad.

Dexterity and perception were both stats that Nathan's archetype didn't really mesh with. A Berserker was supposed to hit things hard; both stats didn't aid the archetype per se. With his priorities in order, Nathan began distributing his free points.

Three to strength

Two to constitution

One to the rest

Strength: 24

Dexterity: 13

Vitality: 12

Constitution: 16

Perception: 11

##

Free points: 0

Nathan watched as the system carried out his command without pause, his free points counting down until there was nothing left. After his fight with the lich, he had to admit it was good to have emergency points, but at this moment he didn't plan on heading into any dungeons for the main time. And if push came to shove, he could always hit a couple of F-ranked dungeons for easy points. With his mind made up, he closed the screen.

The face of a fluffy rabbit replaced the emptiness the system screen had left in its absence. For a brief spell, the pair stared each other down before Nathan folded and took six fruits out of his bag of holding and chucked them at the rabbit.

Not waiting to watch its unnatural jaw, Nathan faced the direction of Blood Rock and resumed walking. For a moment, there was nothing but the sounds of far-away monsters roaring and making whatever sounds they could, and birds and insects chirping. Sounds that Nathan could appreciate, and for a good while when he walked, everything was as it should be.

You've got to be kidding me.

Nathan had half a mind to unsheathe his sword and battle right there, but he restrained himself and kept course. The damned rabbit was hopping after him, but this time he had no intentions of bending to the rabbit's whims. It was free to follow him to Blood Rock if it wanted. The bunny couldn't hurt him even if it tried; its paralysis skill was useful, but it wouldn't give it anything to work with when it came down to actually killing him.

So he trudged through the forest, paying no heed to the bunny that was hopping behind him, his mind set on getting back to the cabin and getting a good night's rest. Nathan was so enthralled by the idea of a good night's sleep that he missed when the hopping sound stopped.

About Time.

He didn't turn back, but he assumed that the bunny had given up on following him and was now doing its own thing, which was something Nathan could appreciate. After all, nobody liked a stalker, no matter how cute it was. Bunny aside, the notion of time did remind him of something he'd forgotten to check up on.

Time till the tutorial ends?

Planet Grade: F

Populating World... Time till completion - 0 [11:54:27]

Spawning Dungeons and Monsters... Time till completion - 0 [11:54:27]

Tutorial Ongoing... Time till completion - 0 [11:54:27]

Strongholds: 5

Nathan read the information with a half-focus as he continued to walk, dismissing the screen once he got the gist of it. By the looks of things, the tutorial would probably be over by the time he woke up tomorrow.

He wondered what that'd mean in general for Earth as a whole, what it would mean for the dungeons and monsters still spawning. Would it be the end of them or the beginning? That was the question. Nathan was about to begin mulling over it when he heard a pained roar, one that seemed to be coming from his stronghold — Blood Rock.

Clearing his thoughts, Nathan unsheathed his sword and ran toward Blood Rock, running through the southern gates when a bizarre sight hit him. Something was in front of his cabin, roaring in pain.

Walking slowly and carefully, Nathan got close enough to identify the monster who stopped roaring as soon as he entered its field of vision, the eyes tracking his every movement. Nathan analyzed the black-furred animal with haste.

[Okare Panther

Level 27]

"Whoa"

The monster was way higher than he'd initially thought, and Nathan wasn't sure he'd have been able to take the panther down in the open. But with Sebalos' hand on one of its paws, he might just have a shot.

The monster must have read his thoughts because it let out an ear-piercing roar before charging towards Nathan, one of its paws still in the clamp even as it headed for him, he knew that had to hurt like crazy.

Do panthers have phylacteries?