[+2 EXP]

[+4 EXP]

[+1 EXP]

The next two waves were the same as before, two Pyogyuns (䶂犬) followed by another pair. We used the same tactics, Lety taking out a single creature while the Clover and I teamed up to slay the remaining one. To my disappointment none of them dropped Spirit Cores. I knew how difficult it would be to receive a core, even with the Dungeon’s higher drop rates but I couldn’t help but expect that the next hunt would drop one.

“Three waves of Pyogyun… that’s not good.”

To completely conquer this dungeon, we would have to survive through 10 waves of monsters and followed by five additional waves of monsters and finally face the boss. Although I could classify the 15 waves together, I separated them into two because the monsters that they populated were completely random. When I had been playing MSS, each wave had been randomly generated and I found that the first 10 and the last 5 waves drew from different pools of monsters. Additionally, the Pyogyun we were fighting now were the weakest of the waves.

The next wave was another wave of Pyogyun.

“Damn it, again?!” Lety growled, brandishing her axes. “Come at me!”

Each successive wave of Pyogyun would stack our ‘unlucky’ streak. If we got 9 successive waves of Pyogyun…

“Don’t even think about that.” I concentrated on holding my shield up, making sure I wouldn’t be knocked over by the lumbering beast.

While I was busy shaking off my thoughts of the ‘worst case possible’ scenario, Lety yelled out in warning and surprise. The Pyogyun that Lety had been occupying behaved differently than its peers, it leaped above her and used its patagium to gain height, bounding over to where Clover and I were facing the other stray.

“Watch out!” Clover warned just in time.

“Shit.” Right as the one in front of me tried to tackle me once more, I slammed the shield into its sensitive nose.

My [Physical] strength wasn’t anything impressive, but I was learning more and more that stats weren’t everything while I was a living breathing being. [Critical Hit] didn’t occur by chance, but it occurred through experience and exploiting weak points, just like how it happened in real life. The last three waves had been more than plenty for me to figure out the Pyogyun’s weakness.

As I expected, the creature in front of me recoiled while yelping. I used that moment to step in with a quick thrust aimed at blinding the creature. I missed and my sword failed to pierce the hard skull, leaving a long gash on its brow. But it was enough, I saw the dark purple blood start to drip down its face into its eyes and for the moment it was blinded. Moving quickly, I tilted my shield upwards just in time to receive four clawed paws.

“Uff.” It knocked the breath out of me and I actually rolled over backwards, trying to kick at it even once while falling.

I missed my kick but had bought myself precious seconds by not allowing the creature to pounce on me from the air.

“HIYAA” L’teya leaped from her position and landed on the creature’s back.

She stabbed into its flank with one axe, using it as a handhold like how mountain climbers do with their pickaxes. With the other she began hacking away at its patagium, the flap of skin connected to its forelegs and rear legs allowing it to glide in the air. We were lucky to be fighting these creatures inside this dungeon, anywhere else and they would have flown circles around us. Luckily the gargantuan pillars kept their maneuverability to a minimum.

Clover had been firing non-stop at the Pyogyun I had stunned but I saw more arrows littering the floor than sticking out of its hide. Besides, the creatures were too thick skinned for her bow to do more than inflict a mere flesh wound. Only Lety had the power behind her strikes to kill the cursed dogs in a single stroke. I would have to wait for an opening and disembowel them, leaving it to slowly bleed out.

Which is what I did.

The creature had been stunned and blinded by my earlier stunt. I ran from the side, avoiding Clover’s arrow path. Trusting that she would stop shooting once I was near, I darted in and slashed the creature on the side of its stomach, aiming low. I didn’t need my sword to sink deep to do the job, just barely more than half its length. Being greeted with a howl of pain, I backpedaled in panic as it snapped at the space where I had just been. But the damage was done, its stomach was leaking blood like an inflated water pool that had been cut open.

[+2 EXP]

Lety climbed down, her Pyogyun long since dead. “I do hope that’s the last of them.”

I nodded and waited til the one I had cut open stopped squirming. It was losing blood fast so it didn’t take long. Stepping close, I wiped the blood off of my sword on its fur. It’s chest was still heaving and I heard wheezing breaths.

I kind of wanted to throw up.

“Ugh.” I didn’t mean to but my thoughts came out, unbidden.

But I kept my eyes on the two dying Pyogyuns until they began to disappear into light.

“Oh! Clover!”

Clover’s body was briefly surrounded by light before it faded. Her eyes widened, the sheep-eye much bigger in contrast to her other human-eye.

“I felt it!”

“You felt it?!”

“Yes!” Clover leapt into the air and gave L’teya a hug. The barbarian laughed.

“So she’s level 10 as well.” I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bitter.

During the second wave, L’teya’s body briefly shone the same light that Clover’s just had. I had thought it the same as before but L’teya indicated otherwise. She said that she felt her Soul was ready for another Core, when I asked her to elaborate the elf-barbarian couldn’t find the words to do so. But this meant that when someone reached level 10, they’d know by the feeling of their soul. It seemed like Clover had also just felt the same thing that L’teya had.

At this rate, I was the only one who was still away from the milestone.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Not that I even know what level I am.” I cursed the lack of a system window.

“It felt like my soul expanded? Like how everything was so full but now there’s enough space for something to come in? I’m not sure how to describe it.” Clover said apologetically, looking at me.

“It’s fine.” I tried not to sound curt and mostly succeeded.

Then I frowned.

“L’teya, do you sense anything?”

“No, why do you ask?”

Usually the waves came right after one another. But now we were supposed to be on the 5th wave but there was nothing here…

“Shit.” I got back into position. “There could be something in here with us.”

My instincts were screaming that something was here. The wave should have started already. As brief as Clover’s celebration was, it had cost us precious seconds in getting ready. Could something had slipped through Lety’s [Tremor Sense] and Lety’s [Hearing] stat?

The barbarian girl frowned and lifted her axes at the ready. “I do not sense anything.”

“It could be staying still.” I explained, lowering my voice.

“There's a limited number of possible monsters from this dungeon's monster pool that could remain undetected to L'teya's [Tremor Sense]. Were there any flying monsters? No… perhaps [Skeletal Boa Constrictor]? No, Clover would have caught that. Could it be a spirit type monster? [Willow-wisp]? It shouldn’t be invisible then…”

Right as I was running through the various possibility in my head, the three of us heard a cackle.

“Kikiki”

Lety whirled around immediately towards the sound of the voice and threw her axe. But it just bounced off a pillar, hitting nothing. She growled in anger and inched towards the fallen axe.

“Invisible… laughter… Beastman-type Dungeon…” I muttered out loud, trying to organize my thoughts.

Something slammed into L’teya’s head from the side and sent her flying.

The creature was visible for barely a second before disappearing from sight again. But I saw enough and the clues had been there.

“Shit! Huddle up! Clover, to me!”

Clover hesitated looking at Lety who stumbled to get to her feet. It was only when L’teya got to her feet that Clover listened to me and huddled up beside me, putting our backs together. L’teya joined us soon after and I saw that the side of her head was bleeding. But judging by the look in her eyes, she wasn’t dazed or anything of the sort.

“Are you good, L’teya?” I felt the need to ask.

“What are we facing?” Was her only response.

I almost gave the answer. Almost.

“I’m not too sure, I didn’t get a good look at it. You?” I redirected the question to Clover.

“It was… gold. That was all I saw. A flash of gold.”

“Trust a merchant’s daughter to recognize the glint of gold when she sees one.”

Clover was half correct.

The creature currently hunting us was the [Lucky Beckoning Cat (招き猫)] - Grade 8. It was a bipedal feline creature that held a bag full of gold in its left hand and a sword in the other. It had matted stringy hair, dried out by mud, blood and lack of care. On its forehead should be an extra eye, giving it an eerie look. The creature was a disgusting half-cat half-man hybrid and the MSS forums had been disgusted at how the game developers profaned a cute pop-culture icon into this hateful murder machine.

Yet everyone loved to hunt it.

This creature could only be encountered by chance in certain dungeons and never randomly out in a field. They always dropped valuable loot and a bunch of gold.

And right now, it was right in front of us.

“If it dropped some [Rare] or even [Uncommon] equipment…” I licked my lips hungrily.

“What do we do?” L’teya directed her question at me.

I debated a couple of strategies. If Lety’s [Tremor Sense] couldn’t sense it then that probably meant the creature was clinging to one of the pillars. The reason why we couldn’t see it was because it was using one of its abilities: [Hide-andSeek]. As long as the creature stayed still, it wouldn’t be visible to us. That was probably how it got Lety. It waited in hiding until she got close, slammed her in the head with its coin bag then jumped on a pillar and turned invisible.

“The question now is how to make the monster show itself… but I don’t want to reveal that I know too much either.”

“Hmm… Clover, you said you saw a flash of gold?”

Clover nodded wordlessly.

I had to speak carefully, almost like I was guessing. I wanted it to seem like I was throwing darts at the wall.

“...I heard some monsters are attracted to coin. Maybe we can lure it out with some coin?”

“They are not Clover.” Lety jabbed.

I saw the beastwoman frown but didn’t comment on Lety’s little joke. To be frank, I wasn’t in the mood for joking either. The monster didn’t have a particularly high offensive power, but for a party of three with only one of them holding a grade-9 Core, we would have difficulty facing it. Most of the creature’s grading came from its invisibility and the [Jackpot] passive.

“...Worth a try.” I took a coin out from my pocket and threw it towards one of the pillars.

Clink.

Nothing.

“Don’t tell me a copper coin is not enough.”

“Perhaps it requires more.” Clover mirrored my thoughts.

I threw three this time.

Clink, clink clink.

Again, nothing happened.

“Throw Puca’s dimension ring.” Lety suggested.

I hesitated.

Anything that the creature picked up, it would go into its coin bag. Even after we killed the creature there was a chance that we wouldn’t get it back. We had our healing potions in there and some valuable loot.

“Is that really worth your life?” The voice inside me argued back. If we didn't get stronger in this dungeon, we would have to rely on the mercy of those outside.

“Tch.” I clicked my tongue but threw the dimension ring.

“YEOWWW!” Something black and golden flashed from the pillar behind us, passing right by us and diving for the dimension ring.

I flinched and reacted a second too late, feeling that Clover did the same. The speed was unbelievable, it was faster than the lightning strikes that I had seen the Mage cast and even the dagger-wielding assassin we fought earlier at the door. But Lety must have been expecting it because she moved even before the creature did.

“Her [Tremor Sense], it went off the moment the creature moved.” I realized.

The creature was just as ugly and sickly in the games. Skin stretched so tight that it was basically a skeleton covered in fur. Its gold bag covered in grime and the sword in its other hand chipped to give it a menacing look. It yowled at Lety and swung its gold bag, trying to get her out of the way.

“DODGE IT!” I managed to yell out.

Lety leaned backwards but the tip of the bag brushed against her and I saw a flash of golden light envelop the creature’s body.

“Oh shit.”

[Lucky Strike], a passive of the Lucky Beckoning Cat which earned it the moniker, Gacha Cat.

Every strike it hit with had a 1% chance of being a critical strike. Then 1% of those had a chance of being a [Jackpot]. In MSS mechanics, this meant you had a 1% chance of doing 2.5x damage and then 1% of those strikes had a chance to do 100x damage. No matter how well balanced your tank was, a [Jackpot] could get a character killed. The creature probably had the strength of a Grade-10 creature but combined with its [Invisibility] and [Lucky Strike], it had earned the grading of 8.

That wasn’t even counting the other passive and active abilities it had.

Lety went flying through the air like before, except many times faster. She sped through the hallway like a bullet and struck the wall.

I felt the breath I had been holding release when I saw her body twitch. If it had been a [Jackpot], there’d probably be nothing left of her to twitch.

“GACHAAAA!” The creature yowled in its scratchy voice and sped for the dimension ring that I threw on the floor.

Clover fired her arrows at the creature, trying to stop it from reaching the ring. It got down on all fours and dodging side to side, making a beeline for the treasure. Lety and Clover bought me enough time to get to the ring before it. I dove for the ring and picked it up, clenching it tight within my fist.

“YEOW!” The beckoning cat swung downwards with its sword.

I instinctively raised my shield to block then rolled out of it, landing on my belly. The sword strike clanged uselessly against the floor and it growled in frustration.

“Don’t let it get on the pillars! Keep firing!” I wasn’t sure how many arrows that Clover had, but I had no intention of letting it go invisible now that we had it in our sights.

The creature’s attention remained focused on me, or rather the Dimension Ring on my fingers. It hunched and started bounding towards the pillars, none of Clover’s arrows managing to find their mark. But her volley was doing its job, it couldn’t move at the same speed as it did before.

I made a split second decision.

Taking the dimension ring I cut off from our assailant’s fingers, I threw it to my right side. Then I took Puca’s ring and threw it to my left.

The response was immediate. The creature made a sharp turn and bounded towards me as soon as it heard the sound of my rings hitting the floor. It sped up and stopped right in front of me, confused at which ring to go to. But the hesitation was momentary, it immediately dove towards my right.

“Of course you’re going to go for the more expensive one.” I was ready for the mangy cat and slammed my shield into its nose.

It must’ve been blinded by greed because my shield slam didn’t do anything. It took a step back, stunned and then tried to get around me. I used the sword in my other hand and landed a glancing strike against its flank. Angrily, it swiped at me with its sword but I was already out of reach keeping my positioning between the two dimension rings. The feline monster purred and swung the gold bag in an overhead swing.

Right at the ground in between us.

The ground exploded from the blow and boulders made entirely of marble flew into the air, falling back down reminiscent of a meter shower. Right before the dust cloud covered my vision, I saw the Lucky Beckoning Cat raise its mouth to the air, crying out.

“G-GI-GI-GIIAAAAAAACHA!”

It was a [Jackpot].

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