For a moment, Nathan was stunned by the pain in his mauled arm, but his body moved on its own, dodging the creature's next swipe as he retaliated with a stab. His eyes remained closed, and he felt detached from the fight as his mind replayed the recent events. I need to keep my eyes closed until it's dead, he decided, as he ripped a long wound into the creature's torso. Seems like this dungeon is focused on illusions, just like the desert.

In his energy vision, he could see how the creature's body was invaded by the surrounding energy. Where it had once represented a void, energy was now streaming into its wounds, worsening the injuries even though Nathan was on the defensive. It let out a horrid moan, the sound rippling through Nathan's body and bringing with it a sense of unease as the energy consumed one of its arms.

Nathan simply kept defending until the creature fully disappeared, his mind snapping back into focus as the disassociation fled. Despite the turmoil of his thoughts, he remained on guard, just barely noticing the second creature as it tried to sneak up on him. Now that he understood what he was dealing with, he used his superior range to inflict minor injuries while carefully retreating, his experience evident in the calm he maintained.

Only after the second foe had been slain did he allow himself to panic, bending over to vomit out the water he had consumed just minutes before. It took a few moments before he was able to remove his hands from his knees and swiped them across his face, unsurprised when they came away bloodied.

His headache was so intense that the wound on his arm was reduced to a mere annoyance, though he could see three deep gashes when he looked at it. Grimacing at the pain, he carefully inspected the injury, seeing that his flesh was ripped down to the bone.

Finally, his gaze fell to the remains of his foes in hopes of identifying their nature. In the places where the monsters had perished, outlines of their shadows were left on the ground, and two piles of ash were all that remained of their bodies. The remains stank of rot and death, causing Nathan to jerk his head back as he inspected them. I've never heard of a monster like that before, he thought. Must be a creation of the dungeon.

He knew he had to continue onward, but there was one thing left to do before clearing the room. Nathan walked forward until he stood just before the spot where he had activated the trap, squinting at the ground while unconsciously wiping away a small stream of blood running from his eyes. The dim lighting cast the room in shadows, but he still noticed the pressure plate set into the floor, confirming his suspicions.

I had hoped this dungeon was completely combat-focused, but now I have to expect more traps too. This could get annoying fast, with traps that require close observation to detect and enemies that can mesmerize me when I look at them.

The room continued on for almost 40 more meters, and Nathan spent nearly an hour crossing that distance, scrutinizing every patch of ground before stepping on it. Twice more he evaded pressure plates, and he even had to jump over one tripwire and carefully step around a patch of suspiciously dense energy.

Finally, he reached the end of the room, his headache now dulled, which brought the pain in his arm to the forefront. Just as he was about to leave, the statue positioned next to the exit suddenly moved, causing him to jump back while immediately brandishing his weapon.

The statue did not approach him, however, just closing its two hands—one holding a book and the other a dagger—and reopening them seconds later, their contents changed.

With the previous encounter with the shadows still fresh in Nathan's mind, he spent several minutes probing the statue, even going so far as to stab it before letting go of his vigilance. Only then did a smile spread across his face. To the victor go the spoils, he thought as he inspected the items that had appeared in the statue's hands.

In the hand that had previously held the dagger, a magnificent red robe could be seen, inlaid with leather at areas that called for added protection. Not wasting any time, Nathan immediately inspected it.

Uncommon Growth Item [Soulbond - None]: Robe of Khert-Ase

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The battle-robe once worn by Commander Khert-Ase, one who walked the path of the mage-blade. This robe offers light protection while guaranteeing ease of movement. It bears enchantments of temperature control, self-cleaning, and self-repair. Time has degraded the power once present in this garment - but that what once was, will be again.

Nathan's eyebrows rose, and he let out an appreciative whistle. The portal must have brought me right to the end of a floor for such an item to appear. And I was the first one to clear it, of course.

Items that carried the growth tag would consume the leftover energy their wearers gave off, improving their rank over time. They were an enormous boon to any climber, though Nathan currently only had the Spearman class, which gave him no access to energy—making that feature temporarily inaccessible to him.

Soulbound items, however, were far more significant. Any climber could bond with only three items, and these bonds would be unbreakable until their death. Soulbound items could be recalled by their bearer, teleporting to them instantly barring special circumstances, and even upon their complete destruction, nothing but energy would be needed to materialize them once more. This process was excruciatingly costly and slow, but any item that was Soulbound could be carried until the very top of the tower.

A big part of Nathan's plan involved finding suitable items to bond with, but these robes were simply too excellent to pass up. Holding his wounded arm over the robes, Nathan watched as drops of blood landed on them, suddenly feeling the connection to the item being established. It was as if another limb had been given to him, its control entirely instinctual and as easy as commanding his own arm.

Congratulations, Nathan Andrews

You have established a Soulbond with the Robes of Khert-Ase

He flexed this new limb, revelling in the sensation he had not felt since entering this timeline, and the robes instantly adorned his body, their soft fabric sitting comfortably against his flesh. They had long sleeves, enough for only his hands to poke out, and fell to below his knees. A sturdy hood was included, large enough to obscure his features, and a shawl was wrapped around his neck, perfect for protecting his face from the environment. A stripe of leather crossed over his chest, offering protection and including small pockets for storage. At the side of his hip, a sheath was secured, meant to hold a sword.

Nathan flexed his Soulbond again, and the sheath transformed, now perfect to hold his spear. By now, a grin was spreading across his face—the loot was far more useful than he had expected—but he finally took notice of the items presented by the statue's other hand.

Common Consumable: Nourishment Pill

One pill is enough for a human to subsist on for a day. Repeated use may cause issues.

Nathan had little expectation after getting the robe, but this was still an excellent reward. Without hesitation, he pocketed five of the six pills while immediately consuming the last one. A familiar sensation spread out from his stomach, warmth flooding his body while sleepiness started to overcome his mind. This room should be safe for now, especially if it is the end of a floor. I've been awake for so long; resting here is the right decision.

Feeling supremely comfortable in his new attire, Nathan found a spot far from any traps, then lay down and closed his eyes.

----------------------------------------

Nathan woke up entirely calm, taking a moment to place the strange feeling before recognizing it. Opening his eyes, he was not surprised to find a man sitting, leaning against a wall across from him.

"Hello, Agnostos. Decided to pay me a visit?" Nathan greeted.

The completely average man took a moment to look at Nathan before answering, "Greetings, Nathan Andrews. I have decided to converse with you once more. Your power has increased, though the path you take is peculiar."

"Now that's a strange sentence," Nathan chuckled. "What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You do not draw upon the deeper layers of reality, though you could have chosen to do so long ago," Agnostos clarified.

Nathan took a moment to parse what he was talking about before answering, "Ah, I don't have an energy core yet. I've got a plan regarding that; I won't stay like this forever."

Agnostos nodded, accepting the argument without question before silence descended upon the pair.

"Where does the name you have given me come from? I don't believe it's your true one," Nathan finally asked.

Agnostos took a moment to consider his answer before speaking. "You are correct of course. Giving out my true name would be foolish beyond compare. It is a word from a language in your world. The people you call ancient Greeks used it, its meaning being 'unknown.' They built shrines to Agnostos Theos, the as of yet unknown god. The sentiment spoke to me."

That answer gave Nathan some information he wasn't sure how to process. "So you know ancient theology from my world, huh? Ah, now that you're here, would you mind explaining what the skill you gave me does?"

Agnostos looked puzzled, clearly not understanding the question. "The system describes it in any way that I can, for it took its information from me."

That was another revelation for Nathan. The system taking its information about a skill from a being would call into question everything he thought he knew about it. But just as he was about to ask a follow-up question, he noticed that Agnostos was gone.