The centipede-fern monstrosity’s red veins bulged and its green skin flushed crimson. At first, it wasn’t a completely one-sided affair. There were many monsters in this area and the newly grown centipedes would get mobbed when they stretched out to catch prey. But it didn’t matter. Thanks to the copious amount of blood that the main head was drinking, their injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The damage only caused the sub-heads to attack more fiercely.
It was at this moment that Jayce realized just how powerful a Bloodrager’s first two abilities were. If one was strong enough to fight it out with their opponents, they could become an invincible berserker.
When Jayce thought about his own performance so far, he felt helpless.
‘Now I understand why Erilin said that giving me the Bloodrager drug was a waste. My strength isn’t very high even when I use Bloodrage, so I can’t fight like that. Mize didn’t give me a close-range weapon because she knew I wouldn’t be able to compete with monsters—even ones at my own level.’
For a moment, Jayce thought he saw his future in this dungeon. By only playing a supportive role, he wouldn’t level up much. Mize would put the majority of her effort into raising the centipede and feathered dragon, leaving him to stagnate. Even if he survived the dungeon, the chance of him living through the following deathmatches would be zero.
Taking a deep breath, Jayce recollected himself. Some part of him stubbornly believed that this wasn’t all he was capable of. Jayce clung to that notion and drove away his despair.
Glancing around, Jayce saw that 70% of the circular platform had become a slaughtering ground. The centipede’s sub-heads were still fighting fiercely with the mob of monsters. As for the feathered dragon, it had collapsed beside Jayce. The feathers it had used to stall the enemy had turned to ash.
The other 30% of the platform was inhabited by Mize and the giant purple flower. They weren’t fighting. Instead, they were simply staring at each other. The flower had opened up to reveal six bloodshot eyes on its six petals. It had also pulled up almost all of its roots, which were now pointing warily at Mize. In the center of the flower was a tooth-filled maw that exhaled thick purple gas.
Strangely, it was this nightmarish creature that seemed hesitant to make a move.
Jayce couldn’t see Mize’s face from his position and he had no idea what she’d done to intimidate it. Even so, he could guess that she was trying to keep it out of the fight until the other monsters were cleaned up. Mize could likely kill it herself, but it would be a waste because she didn’t have a class. The point of this trip into the dungeon was to improve her teammates, not herself.
Jayce’s heart started pounding when he realized that this was a rare opportunity. Mize was normally controlling all of her slaves, either directly or through subtle mental commands, but now her focus was elsewhere. Attacking that flower would ruin her plans, so Jayce had to avoid it. On the other hand, the monsters that the centipede was attacking were fair game.
After slogging through a maze of corridors and enduring the mind-rotting stench of those flesh blobs, Jayce wasn’t in great shape. Jumping into the melee between the sub-heads and the dungeon monsters would be suicide. Despite his exhaustion, Jayce forced his mind to its limits.
‘I can’t waste this chance. Think. Is there anything I can do?’
Jayce closed his eyes for a moment and then brought out Seeker. He hadn’t fired this powerful rifle yet because Mize had never ordered him to. For some reason, she only wanted him to kill with his bare hands. Jayce had a vague idea why that was, but he couldn’t fight like that in this situation.
Picking a flesh blob that was at the edge of the melee, Jayce aimed at its core and fired. It was impossible to tell exactly where the flesh blob’s fist-sized core was. Even so, Jayce could guess with confidence after killing over a dozen of the creatures.
Seeker’s first shot tore through the crimson blob’s pungent flesh, but the monster didn’t slow down at all. The second, third and fourth shots were the same. From the speed of the bullets and the way parts of the flesh blob practically disintegrated when they were hit, Jayce could tell that this gun was extremely powerful. He also felt some energy within himself being taken away with every shot, but it didn’t seem to reduce his already flagging stamina, so he ignored it. When the fifth shot punched through the flesh blob, its entire body shuddered before slumping to the ground. Seeker had destroyed its core.
Pivoting, Jayce found a new target and forced himself to keep shooting. He wasn’t sure if there was any value in his actions, but he couldn’t come up with any other ideas. There was no sure-fire way to remove the pressure that was weighing him down. His situation didn’t have any easy solutions.
After killing two, he turned his gun towards a third. After the third, he looked towards a fourth. The snake-like flesh vines were much more agile and surged ahead of the lagging blobs. Mize had already drawn in most of the monsters when they were running to the center of the room. The centipede’s transformation and the ensuing carnage attracted the rest. Jayce guessed there were around fifty monsters in total within this open room.
Jayce ignored the vines and only went after the blobs. After every kill, he became better at guessing where their cores were. At some point, he forgot about his exhaustion as a sense of thrill overtook his rational mind. For the first time since he’d been dropped into this world, Jayce finally felt a sense of control. When the last flesh blob was stabbed by a sub-head, Jayce only felt that the battle had ended too quickly.
You have unlocked the basic class: Marksman.
You have reached your current limit for basic classes. Other basic classes will be locked.
You have gained an ability: Marksman – Keen Eyes.
Keen Eyes
Cost: Mana
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Your dynamic vision will increase based on the mana you pay and your class level. While active, you may narrow your focus to increase your vision’s clarity.
Jayce was stunned for a moment after the information appeared in his brain. He hadn’t expected that his frantic actions would give him his second class. Compared to the ritual for the Bloodseeker class, the requirements for the Marksman class were like a joke. Even so, Jayce felt a surge of excitement.
“We’re killing the flower. Support with Spirit Nail.” Mize’s voice rang in his head, cutting off his stray thoughts.
While Jayce dutifully switched weapons, the centipede’s sub-heads were already charging towards the monstrous flower. They collided with the flower’s roots, but the monster’s frenzied efforts seemed futile. Twelve out of the centipede’s sixteen legs had sprouted heads and become its soldiers. These soldiers were nourished by the blood of the corpses that they’d piled under the main frond. The roots tore at them and the purple gas spewed from the flower’s mouth corroded their flesh, but the sub-heads were indefatigable.
On the sidelines, Jayce activated his newest ability. With Keen Eyes, the world seemed to slow down as the chaotic battle between the flower and centipede became clear. Jayce found it easy to track the movements of each root and sub-head as they tore at each other messily. Of course, it was impossible for him to stand by and watch this battle as an observer. Moving to an area where the roots were tied down, Jayce fired Spirit Nail a few times in succession. The plant didn’t react at first, but it started to panic once it realized that its movements and thoughts were being inhibited. Jayce’s empowered eyes caught a glimpse of a root flying at him, but his body had no way to react. In the next instant, he was sent flying off the platform.
Jayce hit the stairs with a loud thud and tumbled down ungracefully to the area’s bottom floor. He felt the light shield manifest to protect him, but it didn’t completely absorb the shock from his fall. Coupled with his exhaustion from earlier, Jayce couldn’t bring himself to stand up. As he lay there, Jayce realized that Mize’s order to support the battle had been retracted at some point. He turned his head towards the top of the platform and saw the flower being torn apart piece by piece. Those few spirit nails gave the centipede enough of an advantage to sever its roots and attack the main body.
Just like the vine monsters, the flower bled like an animal rather than a plant.
Several minutes later, the large room was silent. Mize’s eyes swept over the carnage and she nodded happily.
“Store the corpses that haven’t been devoured.”
With those words, Jayce’s sore and tired body picked itself up and got to work. The centipede monstrosity’s various heads glared at him warily as he approached the bloody pile, but Mize’s orders kept them from acting up. As Jayce piled bits of flesh into his storage, he noticed a black, crystalline orb hiding in the mess. The orb was about the size of a grape and there was a mixture of green and red light flickering at its center. Jayce picked it up and felt a strange power inside of it.
“Um, I found something strange.” Jayce announced, holding the orb up for Mize to see.
He briefly considered hiding it, but that was a very risky action. Plus, even if he did deceive Mize, Jayce had no idea how to use the orb. Jayce decided that learning its use was more valuable than hiding it out of spite.
“Great, another one! Toss it to me.” Mize’s smile grew brighter as she waved her left hand. In her right, Jayce saw another orb just like his. It seemed like she had picked it out of the flower’s corpse.
When Mize received the second orb, she stored one and tossed the other to the centipede. The creature’s main head rose up and promptly swallowed it.
“What did that orb do?”
“Those are called mana cores.” Mize answered in a breezy tone. “Sometimes monsters will form them when they die, but I’m surprised to see two in the fifty or so corpses here. Mana cores are useful for a lot of things. Right now, though, they’re only good for increasing the speed at which you guys level up.”
“They can do that? How?”
Mize ignored him. “If you find any more, quickly hand them over to me.”
After she said that, the centipede’s sub-heads started wriggling frantically. Slowly, they tore themselves straight out of the main frond and started skittering around on their own. Without another word, Mize pulled Jayce and the feathered dragon into her bracelet. This time, Jayce didn’t try to fight as he was carried off to sleep.
“It’s been a few hours, that should be enough.”
When he returned to consciousness, Jayce was back in one of this fragment’s many maze-like corridors. Mize was standing behind five fern-like centipedes, three of which were busily devouring a flesh blob’s corpse. The other two just looked on hungrily.
“From now on, I’ll only keep the main body and two others active. Let them eat their fill before you store the corpses. When the others run out of energy, store their bodies as well.”
As he watched them eat, Jayce realized that he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d entered this world. He touched his stomach and frowned. Somehow, he wasn’t hungry at all. After throwing up several times, he had been on the verge of dehydration when Mize stored him away. Yet, he wasn’t thirsty either.
‘I haven’t eaten, drank or slept properly even once in the Upper Bound. Also, I was totally exhausted earlier, but I’m mostly fine after resting in that bracelet for a few hours? What the hell is that thing?’
Shaking his head, Jayce decided to ask about something more practical.
“Hey Mize, I got a new class earlier. Can you tell me anything about that?”
During their ‘strategy meeting’, Mize hadn’t talked about other classes at all. Jayce had been very surprised to get one out of nowhere.
“As your master, I’m always aware of your classes and levels. There’s no need to report them.” Mize spoke normally and her tone wasn’t particularly cold. But that casual attitude combined with her authoritative words reminded Jayce of the massive gap between them. “Also, I felt it was counterproductive to correct you earlier, but you should address me as master. Personally, I don’t really care, but it would reflect badly on me if you called me by my name in public.”
As for his request, Mize didn’t even bother to address it.
Jayce didn’t know how to reply, but it didn’t matter because he wasn’t allowed to speak at the moment. Silently, he stored away the remains of the centipede’s meal while Mize brought out the feathered dragon.
With that, Mize’s team continued through the dungeon. Although their trio, minus Mize, had become a quintet, their strategy didn’t change much. Jayce continued to act as a support, incapacitating targets with Spirit Nail. Lone flesh blobs were executed with his bare hands, as per Mize’s orders. Root monsters were mostly handled by either the dragon or the centipedes, but Jayce was able to sneak in a couple nails here and there thanks to Keen Eyes. While this ability helped him track the vine’s quick movements, it didn’t give him the ability to hit what he aimed at. Ultimately, Jayce still missed most of his shots.
Their hunt continued and after several hours, the biggest change Jayce noticed was the amount of attention Mize was paying him. When they first entered the dungeon, she only gave him vague orders and let him move as he pleased. Things changed after their fight in that large room. Her orders became much more precise and at certain points, she even directly moved his body like a puppeteer. When he thought back, he realized Mize had used this direct control method many times on his fellow slaves during battles. They couldn’t understand complicated orders like he could, so this was the only way to make them move precisely.
Naturally, being controlled like this was very unpleasant.
‘Did she change her attitude because I acted on my own and gained that class?’
Worry and anxiety welled up within him when he thought that he’d gotten on Mize’s bad side. Strangely, he couldn’t bring himself to feel an ounce of regret.