When Ray selected his option, the change was immediate. New energy possessed him. It came from both outside, from the world around him, and from within him as well, bubbling out of his Mana Core like it had turned into a boiling cauldron.

Ray blinked as his sight changed. Colours bloomed everywhere and nowhere. The walls turned from simple beige to lurid green and blinding pink. A sheen of silver covered the carpet, making him squint at how bright it was.

They didn’t stay constant. Reds turned blue, impenetrable blacks became radiant white, and so on. Chromatic lines outlined everything, highlighting every object in his sight as though his mind wanted to impress upon him that they were all different. Separate.

Ray would probably have gotten sick and the changes normally, but honestly, he couldn’t even feel his body at that moment. It was almost like an out-of-body experience. So weird.

By the time the changes stopped, he was shivering on the floor, almost curled into a foetal position. Ray wasn’t one to believe in higher powers, but he couldn’t help but bless whatever might exist beyond his comprehension that everything had stopped trying to gouge his brain out of his skull via sheer, overwhelming sensations.

At least he hadn’t vomited out the little food he’d had today.

Notifications blurred through his sight. It was enormously difficult to focus on them. Registering them enough to actually read what they said made Ray’s head feel as though it was splitting apart. He gave up on going through them for now. They’d be there for him once he was through the ordeal.

It was a while before he got to his unsteady feet. Everything was just a little bit different enough to set him on edge.

Ray had heard how everything in the world looked a little off to short sighted people when they were adjusting to new glasses. Pretty much the same deal for him. There was a certain expressiveness to everything he beheld now, as though a part of him was aware of them in an extra dimension he hadn’t even known existed before that moment.

Calling it weird didn’t even begin to cover the feeling.

If he really squinted, he felt like the chromatic outlines that had edged everything when the colours had gone wild were still present a little bit. Like he was seeing the bed, the chair, the walls, the door, everything really twice. Their real, physical form was superseded by the faintest of multihued, ghostly versions of themselves.

Ray shook his head. Hopefully, he would get used to the sensations soon.

Although, the strange changes were actually a good sign, now that he thought about it. There hadn’t been this intense a reaction the first time he had undergone a class evolution back on the First Floor. That it had happened now was just proof that he had undergone a massive change. Proof that he had new power as a Lifeweaver Exarch.

Now that he had his mind back, mostly, Ray was able to go through all the notifications he had dismissed earlier.

[Class Evolution]

Stat boosts have been applied. Spiritual realignment has been configured. [Legendary] Path has been accounted for. Mana Core has attained Aeon Mana.

Soulstrike [Tier 5] >>> Timereave [Tier 7]

Spiritsorb [Tier 3] >>> Aeon Devour [Tier 5]

Primordial Gauge [Tier 5] >>> Eternal Pulse [Tier 7]

Primal Spiritcraft [Tier 6] >>> Aetheric Trace [Tier 10]

Lifeblood Graveyard [Tier 14] >>> Infinity Mausoleum [Tier 16]

Mottling Spiritguard [Tier 6] >>> Mottling Aeonguard [Tier 9]

Soullife Cloak [Tier 6] >>> Time Veil [Tier 9]

Lifeblood Soulform [Tier 6] >>> Resurrect Recollect [Tier 9]

Spectral Step [Tier 5] >>> Temporal Passage [Tier 7]

Project Presence [Tier 5] >>> Aeon Flow [Tier 7]

Anima Charybdis [Tier 6] >>> Eternal Gravity [Tier 9]

Spiritscourge Chain [Tier 6] >>> Time Link [Tier 9]

Soulsurge Field [Tier 6] >>> Momentous Domain [Tier 9]

New Spell: Life Cycle [Utility] [Tier 10]

New Skill: Aeon Surge [Offensive] [Tier 10]

It was honestly rather nice how all the notifications didn’t completely disappear. His eagerness had never really let him push them away to check them later, and they had an unerring penchant of only appearing when he was free enough to go through them. As such, Ray never really needed to push them away to go through them later.

Ray appreciated the changes. He was about to go out and test them directly, but then, he got a message he couldn’t ignore.

Gritty: They set the new dungeon dates, did you see?

Ray: New dungeon dates? Wait, you mean the higher Tier ones?

Gritty: Yep! Go check the channel.

Ray quickly pulled away from the System chat and found the channel she mentioned, the one that listed all the dungeons in the Immortalizer Tournament and when to reach them.

It said the second and third strongest dungeons were now available. And they’d both be active at the exact time.

Ray: Ah, shit.

Gritty: YEP! Wily bastards don’t want the same people to win both dungeons.

Ray: Of course. They have to make sure no one’s a clear winner until the last dungeon is conquered. Pretty smart, now that I think about it, since we can only go to one dungeon at a time.

Gritty: Fuckers.

As much as Ray was annoyed by it, he was also rather impressed by the decision. But it also made things tense for him because now they had to decide, and fast.

Ray: They’re both going tomorrow. We need to make up our minds and pick one, making sure we’re ready by tomorrow too. Did you tell Marcus yet?

Gritty: Course not. You think I’d poke him first?

Ray: Lol, I guess not.

Gritty: I can almost see that smirk on your face, wingman. Stop smirking and start figuring out which one is the better one.

Well, that did cut off his smirk. She had a point. They couldn’t just blindly decide that the stronger dungeon was the better option. There wasn’t much difference between a Tier 35 and a Tier 34 dungeon.

Ray: Alright, I’ll talk to you later. See if you can find anything, and tell Marcus too, would you?

They cut off the call for now. Ray stood silent for a moment. So much for testing out his new spells and abilities.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

Focus. First thing Ray did was call up Sridayne. She ended up saying that she had received the information only recently, just as he had. Plus, no one else had any intelligence about either of the dungeons, at least not from her sources, so she wasn’t fully certain she could offer him anything even if she got some time.

Sridayne: Unless…

Ray: What? I’m ready to take pretty much anything, honestly.

Sridayne: Well, remember the interview you did for us before the auction? The little teaser that we have been doling out to other broadcasters? Well, it has been selling rather well since your little… achievement at the auction. Suffice it to say, you and your team are in high demand.

Honestly, Ray wasn’t surprised. He had just conveniently forgotten a bit about the social aspect of his accomplishments at the tournament, thanks to Sridayne handling it all. That he hadn’t been approached by any other broadcasters yet was a bit surprising, but he supposed it hadn’t even been a day since the auction.

Ray: That’s cool to know, but how does it relate to the info about the dungeon?

Sridayne: Well, I imagine I could start cutting some corners about who I sell your interview to, in exchange for some verifiable information about the dungeons.

Ray: How would you verify something like that?

Sridayne: We wouldn’t. We cannot. However, YOU can when you actually choose a dungeon based on the information you find, and you can deem the information accurate.

Ray: Hmm, you sure? Wouldn’t that require you to, Idk, get some kind of credit or have one party in the trade put more trust in the other?

Sridayne: It will. But we have few options. Are you up to it?

Ray: You said it yourself. We’ve got no other options, as far as I can think up right now. If anyone knows anything, even any hints about which dungeon might offer more, I’m all for it.

Sridayne: It is settled then. I will proceed with the plan.

Ray: Thanks. You’re a life saver. One last thing, though. Do you think you can find out what exactly the Tower Lord was doing at the auction?

There was no response from Sridayne for a good, long moment. Ray realized he had never really asked the broadcaster where she exactly stood with regards to the Tower of Forging’s administration.

He had thought that she wasn’t really aligned with them in any way. After all, the Floor Lord of the Third Floor had made his enmity against Ray rather publicly clear, and Sridayne continued to work with him regardless of that fact. But still. Asking her to spy on the Tower Lord, to take any action that was so directly against them…

Sridayne: I will try, although I will warn you, I might not be able to discover much,

Ray breathed out a sigh of relief.

Ray: I’ll be happy with whatever morsels you can feed me.

They parted for now. Ray intended to see if he could exhaust other means of finding out anything about the dungeons, though he wasn’t sure how. There were no records of anyone else going through those dungeons.

“So, the stronger one it is then, huh?” Gritty said the next day.

Ray wanted to nod with more surety than he felt, but he couldn’t really muster up the requisite feeling. “Hey, at least our top competitors feel the same way. Although, I wonder how many of them know there’s a Tower Node inside this dungeon…”

“We don’t know it, either,” Marcus said.

He was technically right. While that was the information they had received from Sridayne, they would need to verify it. By exploring and conquering the dungeon.

Ray looked to his left and right. The teams he spotted at the other entrances to the Tier 35 dungeon were more than familiar to him now.

To his right, Sameer and his teammates were waiting for the signal to start the dungeon foray. While Eliza and Karkatrix were both focused on the large crack in the ground they were supposed to drop into, Sameer kept throwing hateful glances at Ray. Gritty was right. That guy really was a terribly sore loser.

On the left, the team who had won the strongest dungeon yet looked almost relaxed as they awaited the signal. The big boulder-alien—or rather, a Galiant, as Ray had finally learned they were called—the Sylvan and the human all stood a little apart, ignoring everyone else.

Ray frowned at them. Honestly, they were a little weird. He had a hard time believing they could work together well enough to successfully conquer strong dungeons when they seemed so aloof. Even Sameer’s team had a lot more camaraderie and chemistry between them than those three. What was their deal?

“I suppose,” Marcus said. “If they’re here, the worst that can happen is that we all will suffer a major setback and won’t make much progress in the tournament.”

Gritty shook her head in disagreement. “This is a Tier 35 dungeon. The second strongest one available to us in the entire tournament. I’ve got a feeling someone is going to come out on top, one way or another.”

“Well… not if we’re all woefully underprepared and end up dying.”

Ray snorted. His eyes drifted back to Team Albatross. “Somehow, I doubt we’re all going to die, no matter what we face.”

The organizer at the back was finally done announcing the dungeon and hyping up all the competitors for the benefit of the audience, both those who were present in person and those watching over broadcasts. “Without further ado, let us now begin!” his voice echoed in from behind. “Competitors! You may now enter and claim the dungeon as yours!”

Ray exchanged quick glances with his teammates. “Let’s go!”

They nodded back as they entered the dungeon.

Like the others, they too needed to fall into a huge crack. The dungeon wasn’t a system of caves and tunnels, or even an old, ruined structure. Instead, it was a valley that stretched out in the distance, one that could only be entered via canyons.

Ray’s team joined the others in quickly reaching the bottom of each of their chosen canyons. The canyon floors were hundreds of feet deep. Thankfully, the ability to fly wasn’t necessary. The entryway was basically a sloped ramp of dirt, so all they had to do was step forward and keep their centre of gravity low as they slid forwards to the bottom of the canyon.

As they entered, a notification brought up the dungeon’s description.

[Eternal Pulse—Dungeon]

Vine-Choked Valley [Tier 35]

When a god falls, the ascendant corpse will often flower parasites that feed on the divine. But a god is eternal. As such, the vines that eat on the divinity’s body will never run out of energy, and with boundless energy comes endless growth… and the power to trap and hold all that strays into its clutches.

Well, that was certainly an ominous little description. It didn’t state anything about conquering the dungeon. Ray didn’t fail to note that it was Eternal Pulse bringing up the description instead of Primordial Gauge he used to have.

At the end of their little trip, Ray did use his wings to soften the landing. Soaring Wings brought up spectral, spiky feathers on his back, allowing him to float and land with ease.

Unlike Gritty, who had to roll to slow herself, or like Marcus, who slumped face first into the dirt.

“This place is… creepy,” Gritty said.

She was the last person Ray would ever expect to admit that anything got to her, so her admission spooked him a little. Especially because he felt it too. The dungeon was creepy.

Around them, the canyon walls seemed to reach far, far higher than they had fallen. Some sort of optical illusion made it feel as though the canyon walls were closer at the top, reducing the light entering the bottom, making it feel as though they were entering tunnels.

“What’s with the walls?” Marcus muttered.

Ray frowned. The walls were crawling with vines that looked so petrified, they could have been carved from stone from the get-go. But that wasn’t the bad part. Upon closer inspection, Ray found that the vines were populated with corpses. Everything from small animals to gigantic monsters were trapped in poses of death and surrender.

Petrified just like the vines themselves. Frozen in eternal expressions of horror.

“We should probably get a move on,” Ray said. “But keep an eye out.”

Ray followed his own advice as they got moving. Eternal Pulse didn’t give him any warnings yet, although he was pretty certain something would come up before long.

“Where are we headed?” Marcus asked.

“The centre,” Ray said. “Where we get this weird valley. I’m going to assume that’s where the boss is. Hopefully, we don’t get too many obs—”

Gritty interjected, and the tone of her voice made Ray’s spine tingle with a cold shiver. “Anybody else see that?”

“See what?”

“The vines. They moved.”

“That’s…”

Ray was going to say something stupid like impossible, but considering he could summon draconic heads that could fly on their own and fire off laser breaths, he stopped himself. Instead, he kept his eyes more open and alert. This was a Tier 35 dungeon. They’d do well to stay on their toes.

They reached a bend in the canyon after a while. At that point, they could see further into the dungeon, where the canyon sloped down further and opened up the valley.

It was difficult to make out much. The entire dungeon was choked with those petrified vines, which appeared to grow larger the deeper they went. But at the centre, the vines couldn’t keep the lurid blue and red light from seeping out through the cracks.

Ray wasn’t the only one sure that they would find the treasure they were seeking there.

But unlike Ray and Marcus who were both staring at what was coming up, Gritty was still keeping her eye on their more immediate surroundings. Probably explained why was the one to curse loudly.

“Shit, it’s not just the vines that are moving.”

The alarm in her voice made Ray turn. He froze. Gritty was way more than just right. The vines themselves were continuing to slither like stone snakes, but their captives were starting to move now as well.

One captive in particular. Ray didn’t recognize all the creatures trapped and frozen in the stony vines’ embrace. He didn’t know the creature moving either.

What he did know was that it definitely wasn’t good news.

The monster was a hulking, demonic amalgamation of multiple dead creatures, all turned to stone like they had gazed into Medusa’s eyes. Its general shape was somewhat humanoid, with recognizable arms and legs and head. It just had all those other petrified carcasses strapped to it like malformed growths.

Eternal Pulse was acting up. It had lain dormant so far, even with all the vines acting up around them. But now, it was finally firing up.

[Eternal Pulse]

Depthless Gargoyle [Monster] [Tier 31] [Level 64]

The vines of the Vine-Choked Valley employ the remnants of their prey to drive out trespassers or capture more troublesome prey. Empowered by the dead god that the vines cradle at the centre, the Depthless Gargoyles can draw on a wellspring of strength that seems endless.

Skills:

Remnant Body [Tier 29]: Draw on the powers of all other trapped remnants, channelling their attributes. From increased strength to enhanced speed to even channelling the elements of the world. At Tier 29, channel up to 29 different remnants at once.

Parasitic Growth [Tier 27]: Embed stony parasites in the world around you to ensure you never lack for power. Number of parasites thrown out depends on the Tier.

Indomitable [Tier 20]: Your internal framework never shatters, so long as you have some skin covering you. Ensures protection up to Tier 20 attacks.

Greater Reach [Tier 30]: Increase your reach and force the world to obey your will, simply with your touch. At Tier 30, your reach can go up to 30 meters.

Stone Storm [Tier 28]: Break apart your body to become a ripping storm that shreds everything caught in your reach. At Tier 28, Stone Storm rages in a radius of 28 meters around you.

“That thing’s not good news,” Marcus said, swallowing a little.

“We can take it,” Ray said.

As though the monster had heard him, it opened its stone jaws wide and bellowed out a grinding roar. A clear challenge, and threat, if Ray had ever heard one.

Then it rushed across the ground at a blinding speed to attack.