‘It would have been easier if I had a hammer to do this… or a knife.’

I began to stitch more and more skin parts of the frogs to protect my gear… I used the tanned skin and cut them into small lines to use them in that process. It was very rough and it couldn’t be enchanted since it was of the common rank, but it was helping a bit.

Since I couldn’t sell anything to a guild, I had to find uses for everything that I could find… all in order to escape the labyrinth as soon as possible. Thanks to that, I had some ideas and wrote them down whenever they came. The last one was to use the parts of the boss of the section and the skeleton of the previous boss and create a boat. Both materials were pretty light, so it should work…

Regardless, I was on the fourth floor already, and I didn’t find signs of Sligo and his group… he advanced pretty fast, after all. Considering his strength, I figured out that he would have a hard time facing the boss of the fifty floor or something. After that, they would have one hell of a climb… crossing fifty floors to face the final guardian of the labyrinth.

‘They can grind and get stronger… but the people controlling this place should know this. There must be an issue somewhere that forces the prisoners to hurry up. Otherwise, this place would be a waste of time.’

While I was thinking about that and looking around, I realized that I could use the parts of the skin to enhance the length of my hook. Given how elastic it was, I probably didn’t even have to enchant it. I could connect to the ceiling and then propel myself forward and then eventually recover the hook without even going toward the ceiling of the cave. That would give me more mobility in the future, but for now, moving like before was better.

‘Ugh, so annoying…’

All of a sudden, a monster frog used its tongue and then grabbed my leg while I was lost in thought. Another suddenly jumped from the water and then used its tongue to grab my neck. Those freaks began to remain hidden in their spawning spots to attack me like that since I arrived on the fourth floor… Still, the tongue of the beast only grabbed my arm, which I readily pushed to the side and made it fall on the closest island.

Since the monster was so squishy, the attack didn’t kill it, but it gave me enough time to grab the tongue of the other and then pull it out of the water. Before long, the two monsters were pulled forward and then smashed each other in the air. The squishing sound was really unnerving.

You received 20 experience points.

You received 20 experience points.

I let out a weary sigh and then proceeded to store the monsters in my magic bags… they were starting to get cramped, so I had to find other uses for those creatures. While I was doing that, I had another idea, and this one would be easier to pull into action. It was still a bit gross, but beggars can be choosers.

I skinned some monsters and then turned their hide into long ropes by tying them up together. Then, I took out the rope of the grappling crossbow and put that new rope instead and then installed it in the place where I could put a crossbow in front of the bike. I pulled the trigger and then the hook flew for eighty meters before reaching the next island. I pulled the second trigger to reel the bike in and then I began to move without having to pedal or use mana cores.

‘It would be awesome if I could make this cross hundreds of meters… my hands would be free to fight instead and then I would save a lot of time.’

I had to tan a lot of skin for that to happen… I also had to make the rope a lot thinner in order to take less space, but it was something that would benefit me a lot in the short term as well.

“Oh, you already arrived? What is that? Some sort of vehicle? I guess you were a crafter, after all.”

I clicked my tongue… I used the new version of the grappling hook a few too many times to gain time, and then I didn’t consider that I was getting too close to the fifth floor soon.

“Tell me, how do you fight like that? I can smell magic on you, but mages wouldn’t summon something like that or craft things aside from scrolls. Hahahaha! You must be a human! Only humans would think of this kind of nonsense inside a dungeon!”

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“Are you going to keep checking on me along the way?”

“I might, I might not. Who knows? What would be the fun of spoiling the surprise? Hahahaha!”

I wondered if all orcs were noisy like that… Sligo climbed the stairs and then disappeared. I decided to take a break this time and then use meditation as well. I had been only using the Ninja skills so far, but I focused on Magic Shurikens, so I needed more mana. For situations like this, where I had to cross one hundred meters in the blink of an eye, I needed Shadow Step to level up, but none of my skills were even closer to that.

‘Perhaps I should stop using Magic Shurikens then…’

I had the mana potions to use, but using them like that seemed like a waste. It was better to use them a bunch of times in a bind. Perhaps I should just sit down, meditate, and then use the Mana Drain effect on a single spawning spot.

It was the best skill that I could grind, after all. I couldn’t imagine a single situation where it wouldn’t be useful and a single situation where it could save my sorry ass in case of mortal danger. Well, I had to wait a bit longer until I had the chance to grind it was possible.

After resting for half an hour, I decided to move to the next floor and while I used camouflage, I didn’t find traces of presence there. The fifth floor was the same as the others, but I felt that the distance between the islands had increased a bit.

‘Fewer resting spots, I guess.’

It was another way for the section to get harder for those who wanted to escape. In some games, dungeons and labyrinths are designed with some increase in difficulty. This pacing helps players get into the mechanics, understand enemy patterns, and build up their skills, creating a sense of progression. Early rooms feature weaker enemies and simpler puzzles, while deeper layers introduce stronger monsters and more complex challenges. This structure is artificial but intentional, made to create an engaging experience for the players.

However, seeing a similar structure in a real-world setting feels strange and suspicious. It would imply that someone, or something, designed the environment to start easy and grow harder the further someone delves in, almost as if to prepare intruders for what’s ahead rather than ward them off entirely. In reality, the danger wouldn’t likely be so convenient; hostile environments or dangerous creatures would be scattered unpredictably, without regard for giving someone a chance to adapt. The gradual progression seen in games doesn’t align with the chaos and unpredictability of the real world, where danger is more random and unstructured.

It wasn’t about time for me to think about why the world operated like that. I had to use all my energy and time to get stronger. Still, with so many questions in my mind, I couldn’t help it. I began to move to put those thoughts aside, hoping that those answers would come to me naturally.

At that point in time, it was hard to say how many hours, or perhaps days, had passed since I arrived in the dungeon. My sense of time was completely messed up since I was getting tired faster than before. My guess was the amount of oxygen in the labyrinth, but it wasn’t certain.

I had the idea of creating a mask that would give me oxygen in such environments, but I didn’t think that I would need it so soon… you never know when life will throw you a weird curveball.

‘The more I think about it, the more I realize that I truly need a multi-purpose armor. The only really safe for me when it comes to environments is the human territory, and that is saying something since people are looking for me there to put my head in a spike.’

Given what has been happening to me in the last three years, it was safe to assume that I was better off lying low doing only a craftsman job, and slowly building my strength. I had to build my foundations when it comes to tools as well. I considered dropping all my plans and then lying low as a craftsman, but that wouldn’t be a real life… living on the run, trying to hide who I was, like I was ashamed of myself. I couldn’t accept such a life.

‘Maybe there is another option out there, but it doesn’t come to mind.’

The only option I could think of was to join an underworld organization… the other was to look for the land of the vampires, but no one knew where it was. Perhaps my mother in this world could give me a hand, but I didn’t feel like looking for someone who abandoned me in the hands of Rayner.

Name: Regulus Dawnshield

Race: Dhampir

Health: 70/70

Regen: 0.1 per hour

Mana: 180/180 (0/1900)

Regen: 6.0 per minute (0/4500) (1.3)

Stamina: 270/270 (0/2800) (1.1)

Regen: 5.5 per minute (0/5000) (1.1)

Strength: 42 (0/3400) (1.3)

Dexterity: 135 (0/5400) 2.5x

Spirit: 11 (0/1200)

Endurance: 13 (0/1400)

Attack Speed: + 5% (0/600)

Movement Speed: 10.7 (0/4700) 1.1

Stamina Conservation: 0.5 (0/5000)

Fire Affinity: 03 (0/400)

Traits: Minor Weakness to Sunlight, Minor Sensitivity to Holy Magic, Minor Aversion to Silver

Classes: Ranger, Pathfinder, Dark Scrollmaker, Fletcher, Mystic Tattoist, Bowyer, Hunter, Enchanter, Ninja, Merchant, Bolt Crafter, Smith, Weaponsmith, Rogue, Sharpshooter, Fire Mage, Brawler,

Aptitudes: Wilderness Survival, Never Lost, Magical Scroll Creator, Master of Archery Craft, Arcane Artist, Master of Bowcraft, Unseen Hunter, Arcane Craftsmanship, Master of Trade, Precision Engineering, Master of Forging, Master of Blades, Shadow Mastery, Master of Precision, Flames Wielder, Iron Will, Silent Observation,

Experience: 2252

I tried to search for an option in my classes, but not a single idea came to mind. In the end, it looked like my only real option was the original one… become insanely strong and unstoppable.