[You Have Defeated (x7 {Sap Slime: Level 5}) And Have Been Granted Experience!]

[You Have Defeated (x2{Sunlight Moss Wolf: Level 10}) And Have Been Granted Experience!]

[You Have Defeated {Sunlight Moss Wolf: Level 15} And Have Been Granted Experience!]

[You Have Defeated {Poisonthorn Pixie: Level 20} And Have Been Granted Experience!]

[{Temiskyr Imp} Has Risen To Level 21! (+1 Recovery +2 Dexterity +1 Magic Power +2 Mana Control +2 Stat Points)]

...

[{Temiskyr Imp} Has Risen To Level 24! (+1 Recovery +2 Dexterity +1 Magic Power +2 Mana Control +2 Stat Points)]

[Skill [Eyes Of Aspirations] Has Reached Level 15!]

…

[Skill [Eyes Of Aspirations] Has Reached Level 19!]

[Skill [Tail Whip] Has Reached Level 17!]

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[Skill [Tail Whip] Has Reached Level 20!]

[You Have Reached The Maximum Level For [Tail Whip], If You Wish To Increase It Further, You Must Increase It To The Second Tier. Levels Until Second Tier Subspecies Evolution: 1]

[Skill [Enchantment Affinity] Has Reached Level 16!]

[Skill [Enchantment Affinity] Has Reached Level 17!]

[Skill [Nightvision] Has Reached Level 2!]

…

[Skill [Nightvision] Has Reached Level 6!]

[Skill [Subliminal Pheromones] Has Reached Level 2!]

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[Skill [Subliminal Pheromones] Has Reached Level 5!]

[Skill [Temptation’s Tongue] Has Reached Level 9!]

…

[Skill [Temptation’s Tongue] Has Reached Level 11!]

[Skill [Versatile Tail] Has Reached Level 5!]

…

[Skill [Versatile Tail] Has Reached Level 10!]

[Skill [Power Slash] Has Reached Level 6!]

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[Skill [Power Slash] Has Reached Level 9!]

[Skill [Analysis Resistance] Has Reached Level 2!]

[Skill [Axe Handling] Has Reached Level 4!]

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[Skill [Axe Handling] Has Reached Level 6!]

[Skill [Brawling] Has Reached Level 16!]

…

[Skill [Brawling] Has Reached Level 19!]

[Skill [From The Brink] Has Reached Level 10!]

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[Skill [From The Brink] Has Reached Level 12!]

[Skill [Holy Affinity] Has Reached Level 14!]

…

[Skill [Holy Affinity] Has Reached Level 16!]

[Skill [Light Affinity] Has Reached Level 5!]

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

…

[Skill [Light Affinity] Has Reached Level 8!]

[Skill [Rest] Has Reached Level 5!]

[Due To A Combination Of Special And Repeated Actions, You Have Learned The Active {Temiskyr Imp} Skill [Shadows Of Doubt] Level 1!]

[Due To Repeated Actions, You Have Learned The Passive General Skill [Poison Resistance] Level 1!]

I skim through the notifications, mainly taking note of what Level {Temiskyr Imp} is at, the fact that [Tail Whip] is now maxed for the moment, how apparently I'm only a one Level away from getting to the next tier, and the two new Skills I acquired. Also, since I have enough points for it, I bring both Strength and Endurance up to 28, equalizing them out once more. Plucking the thorn lodged in my eye as painlessly as I can, I flick it across the Safe Room and into the small pond of water, checking the description of [Shadows Of Doubt] as I do so, not bothering with [Poison Resistance] since its name is self-explanatory as to what it does.

[Shadows Of Doubt]:

The shadows around the user deepen, reducing their overall presence. Mana cost is reduced proportional to how dark the user’s surroundings are already and how little movement the user makes. Additionally, any who lay their eyes on the user whilst [Shadows Of Doubt] is active may believe that their eyes are only playing tricks on them and doubt what they see in the shadows. This is a Skill under the (Enchantment) and (Shadow) Categories.

Now don't ask me how I got something like this, as I haven't a single clue what actions I did that led to a wondrous Skill like this coming to me. Maybe, just maybe, it's because I've been creeping around in the dark this whole time. Still though, gaining a Skill that'll let me sneak around better is game changing, especially in this Dungeon that has been mostly in dim lighting until this room and the last.

But enough about that, time to check out the material spoils from the last battle. I first lift up the grass bracelet up to my good eye, analyzing it for any information I can gain on it, once again getting a combination of what I dub a System blue window with a Dungeon green window attached.

(Vigorous Grass Bracelet):

Bracelet of entwined grass brimming with vitality. Gives the wearer +5 Endurance whilst equipped.

I immediately put the bracelet on my left wrist, where it sizes itself to my arm perfectly to the point where it won't budge if I don't wish it to. When I bring up my Status to check out the result, I spot a (+5) next to the 28 of my Endurance Stat, and while it might just be placebo, I feel a bit more lively than just moments before.

If Luck is a Stat, mine must be through the roof with all this fortune raining down upon me inside this Dungeon.

I grab the small pouch next, and before I even check inside, I lift up the storage item up into the air in victory. The lack of pockets in my pants shall haunt me no longer, for now I am a civilized being who doesn't just carry coins around in their palm. Speaking of those coins, I just now realize that I must've dropped them at some point during the last fight, both of my hands holding nothing other than the pouch after all. Also speaking of dropping things, my axe is still just lying in the grass as well.

Ugh, guess I gotta go pick that up, I couldn't care less about the coins though.

Getting up to my feet with effort, as I had become quite comfortable in my sitting position. I turn around and grab the knob on the door I had been leaning against, only for a Dungeon green window to appear in my vision, which has actually become blurry on one side now instead of the total blackness that filled the right half of my sight until now.

[WARNING!!!]

[You may retreat from the Safe Room back towards the Dungeon entrance, but if you do so, you may not enter further until the following day’s sunrise has occurred]

I remove my hand from the door before I can accidentally open it, then bring it up to my chin as I ponder my new predicament. Missing out on more loot for a day isn't that bad, which would be the safe option to take as I no longer have a weapon. But on the other hand, most of my Skills work unarmed as well so leaving behind the axe for now isn't the end of the world either. If I think about this another way though, the message doesn't say that I can't just come back later to retreat if things get dicey, so I might as well try out going further in as far as I can.

Another dilemma solved by infallible logic that most definitely won't come back to bite me in the ass, I return to my seated position to actually look at what is inside the cloth pouch. The small pouch is about as big as both my fists combined, and has a leather cord fastened around the top to close it. Loosening the cord, I tip over the bag to empty its contents onto my other hand, and a variety of objects come out.

Firstly, a couple of Minor Monster Cores slightly larger than the ones that dropped from the Sap Slimes tumble out, with a tiny one about the size of my pinky nail tumbling out right after, bringing my total up to six. After that, a number of copper coins land on my palm, eight of them to be precise. Overall, the bag itself is more exciting to me than the contents that are within it. Disappointed, I put all of the items back in, while going ahead and adding the vials and Monster Cores I collected already into the pouch.

By this point, my right eye can now distinguish between various blobs of indistinct color, so I think I'll just wait until it heals before continuing on. To make sure I won't be punished for that, I go ahead and try to inspect the analysis result to see if I can gain information on what a Safe Room actually is.

(Safe Room):

Usually found after particularly difficult areas of a dungeon, these rooms prevent Dungeon Monsters from entering, making them areas for Dungeon Delvers to rest between ordeals. Since these rooms typically have useful amenities, such as water and relaxing environments, many Dungeon Delvers even camp out in these rooms when traversing large-scale Dungeons.

Wow, Dungeons are quite nice at times when I'm not being attacked by bloodthirsty monsters. I mean, if the Dungeon’s monsters can't enter the room, and there is no time limit to being here, other than the lack of food on me, what downside is there to just hanging out in here for as long as I want?

At the entrance of the Nature’s Reclaimed Mineshaft, a party of five green-furred Dungeon Delvers enter, following the trail of the one who killed their packmates. Nothing in the System states that naturally occurring monsters can't be Dungeon Delvers themselves after all.