Exhaustion and misdirection trapped him in the forest. He had a map but had no land markers or direction. The nearest tree hunched halfway up and covered three football fields with darkness. That limited him to mana detection and sound. He walked over to the massive tree and laid against it. Its trunk was easily ten care lengths wide. It was massive and covered in tiny needles. Some of those needles had grown large enough to become branches. Unfortunately, the closest branch was out of reach.
Tiny peepholes of light peaked streaks of sunlight from above. It was just enough to see the canopy high above. Limbs grasped one another from multiple trees. They constricted each other in thick loops grasping the old tree. That was the fast track to finding the nearest river.
Climbing this tree demanded the use of both stealth and cling. Cling escaped him still. It was a weird skill. The skill pushed mana out of his body to disperse his surface area and then pull himself to an object. There were clear limits and it ate at his mana reserves. 5mp a second was extreme.
Nero placed his palm against the tree and practiced. Mana flowed thickly in the air regenerating his MP at 2/second. That slowed down the mana cost but wouldn’t help him much in a fight. He had roughly two minutes and ten seconds of constant cling before his mana ran dry. Then he’d fall and lose lives or died. With so few enemies around, he didn’t want to lose any lives from climbing a tree.
The tree was an oak that resembled a crone. There was a crook in its middle that bent it over on its side. It hurt to touch the old bark and there were needles everywhere. Some jutted out of the tree like tiny spears others curved upward. One wrong move and he'd be impaled Vlad style. Hopefully, not asshole to mouth.
After thirty second, he was only a few feet up the tree. He let out a sigh and dropped down. It wasn't the trees fault the skill sucked. If he spent anymore mana, he'd be up a creek. He did some quick mental calculations and leapt using all the force in his legs. The first branch up was 50ft high.
The air rushed past his ears as the force from his jump steered him towards the tree trunk. Hundreds of tiny sharp spikes covered his landing zone. Nero had plenty of time to see them coming before he landed. Known that he was going to get stabbed through the hands didn’t help.
Smash!
Nero slammed into the tree and scrambled to cling to it. Spikes snapped, he clawed for purchase, and he clung with all his might, through the shouting and wasted mana he stuck himself long enough to reach for the branch. He had a pet chameleon who loved to stretch from one branch to the next in his terrarium. Nero though it was cute. It was his turn to stretch with all his might.
Cling barely worked with most of his body reaching out for the next branch. Using his cape tentacles might have been an option if all his thoughts weren't divided between keeping his hold on the tree and grabbing the next branch.
MP 50/365
He had six seconds and fifty feet was a long fall. Blood shield didn't handle impacts very well it was a skin suit with no shock absorbers. Still he couldn't look at the ground. He reached out with all his might, but he couldn't touch the branch. It wasn't working he was going to fall and end up like those fall victims back at the start. A bunch of extra lives wouldn’t mean much to a pancake.
Time was ticking down, and he had to make a decision. If he let up, he might be able to cling quickly once more and lesson his fall. Then he'd have to find a place to rest for the next few minutes until his mana recovered. Taking to the trees wasn't as easy as he thought. This couldn't be what did him in. After so many falls this couldn't be what killed him.
He had all five of his lives left and he'd fallen farther but his body felt much heavier here. A fall on this floor might be worse than on floor 0. Nero had only one option. He bent his legs placed his palms on the trunk to increase his surface area and jumped.
His arm looped around the limp and he snatched his wrist. Then the force of his jump caught up to him. A tearing sensation filled his mind and his arm popped. He'd torn his shoulder apart with the jump. It went to work healing immediately, but he was exhausted already. He needed to get high before he rested it was the only play, he had.
Their bodies weren't video game characters, levels and skill may increase their physical attributes, but they were still human. Nero felt his hand slip. If he released his other wrist to grab the branch, then he’d fall. Tentacles wiggled beneath bulbous and thick. His undeath clothes rippled forth and wrapped around the limb. The monster forced his arm from the limb and then it moved with a thousand tiny legs. The creature that dug into his flesh marched him across the limb to the trunk of the tree.
Nero would like to say he felt another presence of consciousness taking control but that would be a lie. It was all him. He wanted to get up to this limb and the suit followed his will. That was what he thought, and he hoped that was it was the truth. As the world darkened and the suit wrapped him in wiggling red tendrils another thought came to mind. An intelligent parasite might take care of its host.
His eyes snapped open and he felt hungry again. He'd been on this limb for a number of hours. The sun had begun to set, and he was no closer to the village than he had been. He closed out a few messages. Cling gained a few levels from the experience. It seemed the skill was goal oriented after all. Since his goal had been reached the skill leveled up, simple. Acid spray was nearing level 10, but poison needle needed more time before he'd gain anymore levels.
The branch accepted his cling more readily than before. It activated quickly and didn't need a lot of concentration anymore. The differences between a lvl1 and lvl5 skill was immense. For items that was ever truer. He needed to get a move on. He stared up at the top of the hunch of the oak. That's where the oak converged with the other trees. From there he could travel easier.
Instead of clinging for long periods of time, he held on for only half a second before moving to the next spot. Cling couldn't be relied on to hold on to a target for very long. He approached a hard gap between the limbs again this one was the major separation between the hunch and the rest of the trees. It wasn't physically exhausting yet, but it took concentration to cling and release between jumps. He was nearly a quarter mile in the air at this point. In comparison the ceiling of the entrance was only fifty feet high.
Strange birds flew around this high in the trees. Apes covered in white fur climbed up and down the trees constantly keeping an eye out for predators. Some were the size of gorillas. None had attacked him yet, but the ones up ahead were larger than the others. If need be, he'd kill them all to progress to the next part. Just as prepared to enter the nesting area separating him from the hunch they all froze.
Limbs splintered and snapped louder than thunder. Wood and saw dust exploded opening the canopy above. Darkness swallowed the sun and a black mass of feathers climbed down into the canopy. The largest of the apes growled and bellowed it pounded its chest with all its might. A long neck slipped through the opening Nero froze when it passed by him. The monster’s beady black eyes paid him little attention. It opened and snatched the largest ape. The head retracted and Nero watched it snap its beak. One of the ape's massive limbs was cut clean off. Blood sprayed a line on a nearby branch before it swallowed the ape down. Nero saw wiggling where the bird's gizzard should be. The ape was still alive in there.
The apes began to panic while others attacked. Crude spears were thrown through the air only to breath on the massive bird's feathers. It licked the blood from its beak before going in for another. Nero knew this was basic predation. The apes fought roared and threw their crude weapons, but they failed to stop the bird from eating one after the other. When the bird seemed to target one of the females of young children the large males roared and took the predators attention. They fought hard but the size difference was everything.
Nero held up his camera and took a picture of the massive crow.
Murder Dark lvl45
Raid Boss
HP 50,000
ATK5k
DEF1k
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SATK20k
SDEF2k
SPD 10k
Description – Massive, powerful, and intelligent the Murder elemental bird is a powerful predator in any dungeon. Each holds the name Murder while the second name is their element. They have powerful skills sought after by many dungeon hunters. Their stats are much higher than their level should allow. This is because they are raid monsters. A hunter without a party with at least one healer should not engage.
Nero stared at the very clear stats. The 2k SDEF meant his magic would dispel before they hit the monster or were only the feathers given that protection. It was a glass canon among raid monsters more than likely or he could be totally wrong. It would be better to test out the theory ahead of time.
He bent his legs and shot himself to another vantage point. The Murder Dark either didn't see him or it didn't care. Nero kept his camera up and focused on the raid boss. Its beak snapped open aimed at a pregnant ape. He forced all his mana through poison needle and aimed it. Once the spell was formed, he leapt out of the way. They fired out into the monster's mouth just as it opened its beak for a split second. He watched the zero's as they struck the beak repeatedly. He kept the camera on record while he fled to lower branches. Nero fed enough mana into his skill to keep firing for a few seconds.
After growing used to his skill he discovered more about it than ever before. He could preset it with mana. Whether that was a trait of poison skills or not he didn't know. That also meant that they fired until the mana ran out. He couldn't alter the path once firing began. Basically, he had to predict his target's movements before setting it up.
It worked out this time. While the bird's beak shot down Nero saw it flinch for only a moment. He ducked down to a lower limb while the bird plucked the mother up and began to swallow her whole. The apes were shouting and howling with all their might trying to ward off the monster. They threw everything their primitive minds could think of, but nothing deterred the Murder Dark.
Nero watched the video at a hundredth the speed. Most of his needles missed but one managed to impale the monster's tongue. The monster was so fast, he couldn't keep up as he was. Eventually, he heard more snapping, felt a storm of wind, and saw light returning. He couldn't beat it as he was. He stored 200mp into his stationary poison needles. They fired once for every MP and fired three at a time. Out of 600 needles only 1 managed to hit the weak spot. That had been the one he was aiming at. Even with that, he only saw 1HP vanish from the monster's impressive health bar. That meant the monster's organs also had some SDEF.
It was a kernel of knowledge he couldn't use at the moment.
While the apes were distracted, he used a combination of stealth and cling to sneak around them. It was the perfect moment. On the hunch, he saw more of the forest, partially because the monster cleared most of the upper canopy to get to the apes.
Up upon the highest point of the oak Nero saw a massive nest. His eyes widened at what he saw. Two of the massive crows nested there atop the tree. One was black as night and the other was golden. They paid him no mind, so he decided not to poke his nose where it didn't belong. Just because he found a weakness didn't mean he could make use of it yet. He narrowed his eyes at the monster and felt his cheeks burn and he smiled. They were the test of this floor. Before he left, he had to kill them.
His eyes widened. The massive featherless heads of chicks rose from the nest. The massive Murder Dark opened its maw and began to cough. It spat one of the apes into the nest and the chicks began playing with it. Nero kept his camera on record and zoomed in on the nest. The Murders shared some of what the Murder Dark consumed.
After another few level ups from cling some of which he was certain were thanks to the Murder Dark attack he made his way east. While he made his way towards the safety of the river, he started to hear stomping. He continued on his marry way until he heard more stomping. This time he used cling and rushed to the nearest tree trunk. The shaking was getting worse.
Trees all around him began to shake. He looked down to see three women and a man with the bodies of horses and the upper torso of humans. It took a second to realize he was dealing with centaurs. Unless one had an earthquake skill, they couldn't have caused the ground to shake. He followed the path where they'd come. The booming grew louder than ever.
Whole trees were shaking all over the place and limbs where falling. He heard a snap behind him and saw a massive limb fall upon one of the centaurs. It smashed heavily on her back and sent her sprawling to the ground.
The other three left her to die. It was logical to leave her there was no way they could carry her. Odds were they had powers like everyone in this world but why didn't they have a shield or something to protect against the limb?
It began with a crash. He had to cling to the tree as it twisted, burst, and spilled its guts. A creature burst into the clearing. It could have been forty feet from snout to tail at least. Every step unleashed hell upon the world around it. Trees older than ten human lifetimes were ripped apart and shattered by this force. Long powerful legs moved the predator forward while a set of reptilian arms moved trees out of its way. Some force pushed everything away from the creature.
Slowly the repulsion dimmed, and the shaking stopped. Nero dry heaved and watched the monster move. Small shockwaves fired off as it moved clearing its path. These shockwaves were different than the others. Trees weren't knocked around, the sky wasn't falling, and it only moved what it wanted to. The monster's gaze focused on the downed centaur trapped under a ton of fallen debris.
He had to learn more about this new dangerous world. Nero held up his phone and took a picture.
Terra a Juvenile Tyrannoroid lvl10
HP 10k
MP 300/10k
ATK 250
DEF 100
SATK 10k
SDEF 10
SPD 40
Description – A fairly young specimen of the Tyrannoroid species. This one was bred from the Tyrannosauroid King Peter Housing. It passed one of the legendary skills from the elder Tyrannoroids World's Breaker.
Nero hid behind a tree as the monstrous creature approached its prey. The river was nearby, and this trail was once well worn by centaurs. If he was quick, 10,000 HP wasn't that much. It's had low special defense and his needles had just enough physical strength to punch through. There wasn't a barrier on it or any other giant lizards.
If he approached the centaur village after the predator finishes off the centaur, he'll be a stranger. But if he kills the t-rex, wouldn't that make him a hero. That'll give him acceptance and possibly a place to stay for a while. On the flip side this was a big risk. He needed to put at least sixty needles into the monster if he wanted to bring it down.
The forest couldn't have looked worse if a landslide came through. There was another part to this. If he killed the monster other tyranoroids will come after him if they find out. Nero dropped down from the tree and entered stealth mode. He crept behind debris and moved quickly to the downed centaur.
He touched her side when he was close enough. Her fur was soft and warm even with a mountain of saw dust on top of it. The lady opened her eyes and looked at him before seeing the massive snout of Terra approaching. The second the monster lowered her head she opened her mouth blinding herself. Nero raise both hands already powering poison needles as the monster lunged.
Terra had teeth the size of steak knives, breath rank with rotten meat, and a power that was a natural disaster, this was a true monster. It also had a name. That meant a level of intelligence or even a parent. Killing her might be a mistake.
Nero fired dozens of needles in the brief second it took her to lung forward. Nero dove behind a fallen log before the attack hit. The pain of a mouth full of needles made the monster roar and back away.
It shook its head and roared. A massive tongue rolled in its mouth trying to dislodge the needles. Then the world shook and warped around the monster. He ran for the centaur and lifted with all his might.
His phone flashed her data.
Arturia lvl25
HP 500/930
SPD 860
Description – Arturia is a well like centaur in the Canterlot herd. She is powerful graceful and loves a good story. Right now, she is deathly afraid of the massive Tyranoroid about to unleash World's Breaker. She hopes you will pull the limb off in time. Her back really hurts.
"Hey, do you think you could carry me?" Nero shouted. He didn't know if his poison would kill it before the monster unleashed its skill.
"I don't know. My back it might be broken." He thought about stopping right then and ducking behind her for cover. It would at least get some use out of her. Just as he pulled the limb off of her, he heard something heavy slump over. He saw her back legs struggling to help push the limb off. That meant her back probably wasn’t broken.
Nero steered the limb off of her and turned to the massive corpse. Something was glowing. There was a white ball of something in the monster's body. He approached cautiously. It was weird he hadn’t gotten an update on his phone yet.
"Get back she isn't dead." Her eyes lasered on to him, she opened her mouth, and roared as world's breaker shook the world. Nero leapt forward while her mouth was open and stabbed down on her tongue with life taker. A leap pushed him into the only safe place he could think of and jaws shut on the heel of his foot. His world went red and his undeath clothes stabbed everything.
Through the pain for some reason he thought of a shrieking bratty teenager yelling at him. It was funny all she had to do to kill him was not open her mouth.
His new home was thrown and skipped across the broken forest. Nero was stuck while the monster took a series of powerful blows. While she raged outside his protective chamber. He made himself at home. She opened her mouth enough for him to pull his foot inside and began to swallow. Powerful muscles ignored the spikes and ripped him deeper into the flesh.
Undeath Clothes I lvl11
Undeath Clothes I lvl12 …
Undeath Clothes lvl18
His world crashed into the ground and the jaw slackened. Muscles relaxed all around him and the blood stopped flowing. Powerful tendrils passed between the monster's teeth and opened the maw. Nero stepped out with little trouble. His phone updated the experience.
Raid Boss Defeated
Level Up lvl15
Cling I lvl20
Stealth I lvl10
Mystical Integrity I lvl20
Undeath Clothes I lvl20 – HP drained needed to next 100/10,000
Life Taker lvl10 = Evolution = Life Plunderer lvl10
Life Plunderer I lvl10 – Weapon lvl x 2VIT – A weapon that has become an artefact and enchantment. All projectile and physical weapons now carry Life Plunderer’s effects.
Effects
1: Damage to others becomes HP taken.
2: Lives stored now increases with raid bosses slain.
3: Unique Raid Boss skills can now be stolen despite inheritance procedures.
Do you want to plunder the skill World's Breaker?
Y/N
Nero hit yes immediately. A white ball of light gathered in the monster. It froze as if struggling to stay inside its owner. Nero placed a hand on the corpse. He wanted this power. It was his by right.
Suddenly he felt a lurch and the ball of light hit him in the chest. Memories of countless powerful predators flew through his mind. Each was a lifetime of experiences that flew by faster than the last. He saw the point where Terra was given the skill until now. She hadn’t been this powerful originally. It was all the skill.
Skill Plundered and Inherited: World's Breaker III lvl98
World’s Breaker III lvl98 – Neutral Type skill that gathers mana from the user and the surrounding area to produce vibrations. The more mana used the more powerful the vibrations. Magic type skill.
Magic +9800
Cost: 1,000MP/1s
SATK = Skill lvl x 1000/ft
Mana 42.5k
SATK = 98k/ft
ATK 9.189k
DEF 9.436k
SPD 10.201k
Nero’s body shook and cracked under the strain of a sudden change. Skin flaked off his body while mana burst free stretching out with flowing blue tentacles. His undeath clothes struggled to put him back together and the power. It was intoxicating. His will and mana raged to shake the world and tear it apart. He knew why the monster roared, he wanted to roar too. This was too much. Everyone had their limits and Nero was nearing his.
He’d leveled up and two skill dice sat in his menu unused. He needed them now more than ever. The only way to keep his body together was to increase his health. Otherwise, there’d be nothing left.