Alexia

This… is not loot.

I stare at the egg that appeared floating above the chest after I touched it before identifying the thing.

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Elemental Pet Egg

Description: This egg passively absorbs the mana of the user who bonds with it, eventually hatching into an Elemental Pet. The species of the bonded pet will be dependent on what boss was defeated to obtain this egg.

Stats Bonus: N/A

Requirements: Must be Alexia Knight to hatch this egg.

Item Tier: 2

{Tier raised from 1 to 2 due to random chance caused by the solo defeat of the boss}

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The tier of the item takes me aback for a moment, only for me to immediately reach out and grab the egg. Then the egg begins to just disappear into my hand as if it were never there.

[User has bonded with an Elemental Pet, making the Pet soulbound to them. As the Pet is currently in its incubation period, it will passively absorb a small amount of the elemental energy of their highest Class affinity that the user gives off. After the Pet absorbs enough energy, it will hatch.]

Wait a second, what? That’s not something from before the Reset… a soulbound pet?

Is it because I was wanting a tamed monster before to get the Taming General skill? I know that the System works a bit more towards what the user wants sometimes for loot box rewards when the user is fighting solo or with a strong handicap, but still... that doesn't really help me the way I wanted the monster.

I stare at the chest for several seconds before eventually shrugging and looking around the cavern for a way to move on through the dungeon, not really noticing anything going on with my soul. But then again, I guess it’s taking my quantum energy, not my soul. And elemental energy is something everyone with an affinity naturally generates on their own without even thinking about it. Almost like a biological, or rather, a magical signal unique to them.

Which does make me wonder how long it’ll take for the egg to hatch, but I have more pressing issues right now.

I begin walking over to a corner of the cavern where I notice a decline in the surface of the floor, only to eventually find another hole covered in cobwebs. Which isn’t a good sign, nor does it bring back good memories.

I glare at the hole in the ground for several seconds before eventually sighing, sending a Quantum Bolt straight down to clear the cobwebs a little, then jumping in.

Here’s hoping it’s not a repeat of the last time.

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Okay. Not what I was expecting, but still not a very pleasant place to be.

I look around the area I landed in, some sort of large cavern filled with random pools of purple liquid that I’m assuming is poison judging by the creepy looking bubbles of gooey purple that keep popping from time to time on the surface, not to mention the whole purple color in the first place. And lots of other things in this dungeon seem to love their poison, so it only makes sense.

Although, I don’t see any monsters in the-

My thoughts are interrupted by the sound of skittering legs, followed by the sight of a scorpion entering the cavern and immediately turning its sights on me.

Never mind then.

I summon my polearm as I identify the scorpion and almost stumble in the process.

{Nightshade Scorpion – Level 67}

Right. Because a regular monster in the next area should be twelve levels higher than the boss of the last area.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Yeah. That sounds about right.

Maybe.

Probably not.

I throw my polearm at the thing, making it stretch out its bladed tail at the last second to parry it, sending it flying past the creature until I recall it to my hand again. Then the two-meter-long arachnid hisses at me while rubbing its two dark purple fore-limbs together.

When I saw the term arachnid-type monsters in the dungeon’s description, I wasn’t exactly thinking scorpions. But I guess they’re classified as arachnids too, so…

The creature begins rushing towards me, ignoring the pools of poison as it passes through them seemingly unharmed. Unlike the walls that are splashed by the poison and begin to sizzle melt a little, showing that whatever ground the poison is under is likely something specially made to be immune to it.

I throw my polearm at it again along with a Quantum Bolt, and it manages to parry the weapon once more, but all it ends up doing when it swipes its claw at the bolt is making large chunks of its claw glitching apart and exploding, making its hissing increase in volume. Meanwhile I continue sending more Quantum Bolts at the thing, each of which it tries to block with little success until I finally kill the thing after blasting it apart with nearly two dozen Quantum Bolts.

[Level 67 Nightshade Scorpion Defeated. User’s earned EXP has been increased a large amount due to killing a being whose level is five levels or more higher than their own.]

{Congratulations! You have leveled up to level 62! Your Species has awarded you +2 VIT, +2 DEX, +2 STR, +2 MAG, and +2 MEN. Your Class has awarded you +1 VIT, +1 DEX, +1 STR, +2 MAG, and +2 MEN.}

{Congratulations! Your Active Skill ‘Quantum Bolt’ has reached Level 5!}

A level in Quantum Bolt. Not half bad.

I open my status.

Name: Alexia Knight Species: Quantum Reaper(T1) Level: 62 Class: Quantum Reaper Soul: 3,011/5,362.5 VIT: 184 DEX: 184 STR: 184 MAG: 245 MEN: 245 Racial Skills Active Skills Passive Skills General Skills

Okay, bad. Very bad. I need to find a safe zone otherwise I’ll run out of soul faster than I can convince Astrid to go out for donuts. Which is fast.

I look around the cavern at the three different exits, each on opposing ends of the others. Then I start sprinting around the pools of poison towards one, avoiding the tunnel that the scorpion came out of.

Only to end up passing through the tunnel and finding myself in a room full of half a dozen scorpions.

Maybe picking directions isn’t my best skill.

I turn around and begin running away as the six scorpions all start charging towards me, and when I get back to the cavern I was in, I suddenly feel a sensation tugging me towards the other tunnel in the room – the one that the first scorpion didn’t come out of between the two remaining tunnels.

Thank you very much exploration skill.

Without an ounce of hesitation, I sprint straight through the room while occasionally sending Quantum Bolts back towards the chasing scorpions until I reach the tunnel and pass through it. Then I find another large cavern with only two scorpions and a few pools of poison in it, along with a single tunnel leading out of it aside from the one I entered through.

So I sprint through the cavern, teleporting twice just to avoid the pools of poison and the scorpions trying to block my way. And once I make it to the tunnel, I sense something swinging straight towards my head, so I duck right before a sharp tail flies by, swinging some sort of purple liquid along with it. Then I continue running straight through the tunnel until I make it to a small cavern, passing through the usual fluctuations in space in the process as I enter a Safe Zone.

I quickly turn around, only to let out a sigh at the sight of the monsters slamming into an invisible wall made up of partially see-through purple and blue energy. Quantum energy belonging to the System no doubt.

I let out a sigh of relief before backing up to a random wall, leaning up against it, and sliding down to the ground.

Alive.

And now I can switch out my skills.