Shun POV:

I walked off when Katherine opened her mouth again.

“And our formation? I’m adept at healing due to my master’s care, so I am fine with staying on the backline to provide you all with support.”

“Not everyone who can use the Water Ki Nature is proficient in healing! As expected of Miss Katherine!”

“Sweet. That pretty much completes our formation then.”

Phoebe gave the others a confident smile while my impatience began to mount.

“...”

“Gerard is the Tank. Shun and I will be the main damage dealers. Katherine will be the healer/support, and Aiden will be the Vanguard.”

I let out a deep sigh, calming down the irritating swirling inside of me.

“Let me be the Vanguard.”

Phoebe’s frown was matched by Aiden’s dark blue eyes narrowing. The Vanguard role meant they took the lead in guiding the party through the dungeon; they were the first to engage in order to relay more accurate information to the group before the Tank took over. The Vanguard would then fall into a Tank/DPS role once the party moved into formation.

Aiden’s loose armour confirmed that he had other attributes to fulfil this role without being in any danger. In other words, he was strong.

This was my current hypothesis and would explain why both of them were so concerned by my suggestion.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t mind switching to see how well he performs.”

I ruffled my hair, unable to hide my agitation anymore.

“Yes, I’m damn sure. Once we finally enter this damn dungeon, you’ll see why.”

I peered down at Phoebe. Her cheeks turned several shades darker for some weird reason before she gave me a firm nod.

“A young blossoming love.”

“It seems one-sided to me, Miss Katherine.”

***

We arrived in a well-lit cave, and I stepped forward right away.

“Codex.”

My Ki flared out while a massive book appeared within my mind. It contained all the books I had ever read and allowed me to tap into the powers used by those individuals from their respective novels. This wasn’t limited to protagonists either; I wouldn’t make such an obvious oversight.

The reproduced ability suffered from several restrictions compared to the original, but it still had its uses.

“Rise.”

Dozens of white Shadow Monsters emerged from the darkness attached to my feet. A unit of Tunnelmen, Trolls, Skeleton Knights, and Orcs lowered their heads in my presence.

“Go patrol.”

They bowed and flickered out of view.

“Codex: Bookmark.”

The pages flipped over, turning into a blur till they arrived on a black bookmark pressed against the spine.

‘Bookmark’ was one of the three Codex techniques. As the name implied, it allowed me to place a bookmark down on a page so that I could use more than one ability at the same time.

There were two conditions that needed to be followed.

The first required the bookmark to be placed down before a Codex ability was activated. The second required the bookmark to be within a certain range of the original ability chosen; otherwise, the bookmark would disintegrate and the Ki Cost of placing another one down would quadruple.

I took out a carving knife from my inventory and walked over to the cave wall. The knife sliced through it like butter. It formed a detailed hooded figure with a muscular arm pointing a thin blade forward.

I stepped out of the short tunnel I had made when a window dropped in front of my vision.

[What would you like to name your creation?]

“Hardcore Teacher.”

[You have created a masterpiece!]

[Sculpture: Hardcore Teacher (Reaver Edition)

Benefits:

• All party members, excluding the architect, gain a significant increase to all physical attributes.

• Movement Speed is doubled!

• Shadow Reaver’s movement speed is tripled!

• Architect Shun gains additional teaching benefits!

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Description:

A rushed masterpiece, yet a masterpiece nonetheless. Architect Shun shows his analytical ability to represent Reavers on the canvas. Though his reasons for doing so are... questionable.]

“Codex: Original.”

The massive book closed shut. Its cover turned black before opening once more, with far less content available.

I glanced back at everyone staring at me in shock, apart from Katherine.

“Original: Shinobi.”

Original contained the stories I had written for homework or school assignments. Back then, I always wanted to create a character capable of switching between multiple Professions and be able to utilise just as many abilities as other characters.

Since these stories were mine, I could use the abilities described without any nerfs. Once Original is active, the first Codex is turned into Codex Knowledge, or CK for short. That was why it contained all of the books I had read, not just novels.

These details mattered.

CK acted as a separate resource from my Ki and was used in my professions. This was how Wizard was able to manipulate the Water Ki Nature; I directly transmuted CK into the chosen Ki Nature. The drawback was the high CK cost due to the unnatural element I was using.

There were other restrictions too. When Original was active, other Codex abilities couldn’t be used unless utilised beforehand, i.e. the Shadow Monsters and the Reaver Sculpture.

This was obvious since the previous Codex now functioned as Codex Knowledge.

I also wouldn’t be able to recall the Shadow Monsters or re-use the Reaver Sculpture due to the activation of Original. It was the same as cutting one of the connections that bound me to the ability.

My Ki took on a darker hue as it wrapped around me, forming my Shinobi attire. Phoebe’s mouth dropped open, and her cheeks went the darkest I had ever seen them.

“Shun, if you want to improve, I recommend sticking to these forms.”

“I already know.”

The Shadow Monsters engaged in combat all around the map, so I didn’t need to wait. My hands blurred before stopping on the final hand sign.

“Transfer.”

I switched places with a Shadow Tunnelmen Leader and caught the fist of the Floor Boss.

[Floor Boss: Bloodied Deadmin]

Bones covered its arms like gauntlets. It had two red eyes that matched a torn open blood-red cloak. Tribal marks ran across the Bloodied Deadmin’s skin, creating a pattern that reached up to the monster’s dark forehead and slim face.

“Rin.”

My free hand transitioned into the half seal for Rin. The technique reversed the force of the Bloodied Deadmin’s strike, shattering its arm and shooting the Floor Boss backwards.

A chunk of HP disappeared, but my hands were already in motion; it took mere seconds for me to finish several more seals and tap the Bloodied Deadmin’s chest. I flipped through the air, dodging its bone sword that lacerated the side of the wide tunnel in retaliation.

“9 Cuts.”

Black chains sprouted out of the Bloodied Deadmin’s chest, binding the dungeon monster in place. They wrapped around its body, forming 5 horizontal and 4 vertical lines that intersected in the centre.

The canvas was ready.

My finger danced through the air, drawing the black character for death: 死. A final flick sealed the Bloodied Deadmin’s fate.

Its roar was cut short. The Floor Boss imploded from the rapid forceful injection of foreign Ki via the black chains, and all that verified its existence was a bloody patch where it once stood.

‘...’

I wouldn’t be able to use that technique again for 24 hours. The Ki Cost was high, but that wasn’t a problem due to my enormous Ki Reserves.

Rin. Pyō. Tō. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen.

These were the 9 hand seals within the Kuji-kiri, and by combining them together, I could utilise various techniques. The ‘9 Cuts’ was just one example of that.

I designed each seal to have a half seal that could be employed to gain the same effect. In some cases, additional benefits were applied. This was to free up a hand in order to create flexibility, but the drawback was half seals couldn’t be used in combination techniques.

The Kuji-kiri was the core of the Shinobi profession, and Codex Knowledge created the tools that every Shinobi needed. However, ‘Transfer’ was an exception to this rule: it was the only technique that used random hand signs outside of the Kuji-kiri.

I shifted my gaze to the others exiting a nearby tunnel. The Shadow Monsters stood behind me once I got to my feet.

“Ha... He can be the Vanguard, that’s for sure...”

Gerard scratched the side of his head while Aiden nodded in agreement. Phoebe raised an eyebrow; her slight intrigue causing her amber eyes to shimmer.

“Were you holding back against Katherine?”

“No.”

I glanced at Katherine’s warm smile and walked off.

‘Tch.’

Even if I could somehow move fast enough to touch her, breaking out of the 9 Cuts was an easy task for Katherine. That’s how damn strong she was.

“Let’s move.”

***

[Title Window:

• Troll Killer (+10)

• Warhog Hunter (+5)

• Extreme Ruthless Tunnelmen Teacher (+16)

• Dungeon Lover (Max)

• Imminence Subjugator (+7)

• Orc Murderer (+4)

• Goblin Torturer (+8)

• Destroyer of the Ultimate Fishnin’s Dreams (Max)

• The Ultimate Fishnin’s Protégé

• Forgotten Dance

• Bloody Killer (+3)

• Speed...

• Precise Communicator (Max)

• Suppressed Body (+18)

...

..

.

• Dungeon Maniac (Max)]

“...Why has Imminence Subjugator increased so much?”

I shook my head and turned my attention toward the other titles I had yet to check.

[Title: Dungeon Lover (Max)

Effect: All physical attributes are greatly increased.

• Ki Recovery Rate is tripled.

• Your love for dungeons has reached its limit.]

[Title: Extreme Ruthless Tunnelmen Teacher (+16)

Effect: Teaching dungeon monsters drastically increases all of their physical attributes. However, their anger and rage will be directed toward you with no room for negotiation.

• As an instructor, you can force those trained underneath you to fight you at full force.

• As an instructor, your teachings encourage independent thinking and growth.

• As an instructor, your pupils can develop into capable teachers themselves.

• As an instructor, the intelligence of all pupils ever taught is permanently increased by a significant amount.

• The deeper your bond with the dungeon monster(s), the more additional bonuses will be applied.

• Training additional dungeon monsters evolves this title.]

‘Good. Very good.’

My lips curved upward at the continued improvement of this title.

“Map.”

I observed the positions of the party members fighting far away on the other side of the vast Floor. I dispelled the window and looked past the arm over my knee.

[Floor Boss: Bloodied Deadmin]

Deadmin.

Contrary to expectations, they weren’t as threatening as their name implied. Dark brown eyes, brown fur over their arms, plump faces, and loose clothes that covered their lower body. A small pattern of tribal markings ran across their abdomen: these were the features of a Deadmin.

They lacked the stench of blood that clung to Bloodied Deadmin and were much smaller in stature too. However, the final red flag was their capability of human speech.

Deadmin were obsessed with killing in creative ways; that was why their style of fighting seemed like guerilla warfare to the onlooker.

It wasn’t.

It was a process of deciding which method would bring about the most bloody display of death. The poison they used only caused a slight migraine, with its main intention being the sedative effects. Once the target was put to sleep, the Deadmin Ritual would begin.

Those long-range elemental attacks were used to explode the limbs off the prey’s body or ignite an area suitable for the ritual. Those long-range techniques were used to create unique ways of death. For example, a silent shockwave of air would increase in power based on the distance travelled. The Deadmin would then compress and push it inside the target’s ear.

Delicate control directed the path of the technique. The result was a gradual implosion of the target’s organs before their head enlarged and...

Popped.

The more Deadmin killed, the more blood they had on their hands. The more blood, the crazier they became.

It was a destructive cycle, but I obtained this information by beating the life out of one of them.