Arriving at the sixth floor, it had the same walls and floor as before, looking down the tunnel many pathways branched off from where we were. I’m still not used to this kind of vision, and not seeing shadows was strange, but that might be thanks to how dark it is in here.
Turning to me, Aubrey wordlessly hands me a piece of paper. Opening it I found a detailed map, showing the tunnels, locations of safe rooms and shortcuts as well as areas marked in red. Asking Aubrey what the red areas meant, she nervously told me it meant there was something dangerous there, for example, trapped areas, strange monsters, pitfalls, etc.
Looking over the map, I saw that it wasn’t all tunnels and small rooms, there are rooms connected by one tunnel or rooms were separated by only a wall. The map didn’t give me a good idea of how big the place was, and just as I’m about to ask Aubrey, I felt it again. A presence, closer than it was before. Feeling a chill down my spine, it was the third time I’d felt this presence, yet I still couldn’t identify it. It felt familiar, but I had no idea who it is, it’s like something about the presence is different.
Taking a deep breath, I calm myself down. I’d find out in due time, but it certainly frightened me, the feeling was very clear. Maybe someone is following me, or maybe my mind was making it up. Either way, as long as I keep my guard up, I’d at least be able to see what it is one day.
Looking at the map, I wondered what way we should go. Thankfully it appeared to be rather quiet in the dungeon, judging from how many people were going in and out. We had seen some adventurers but they kept to themselves. Aubrey told me before that we had travelled along some of the quieter areas on purpose to ensure we didn’t tire ourselves before arriving at the sixth floor.
From the information on monsters that we discussed earlier, the level range down here was 24 to 26, the higher-level monsters were deeper within the floor. Looking at the map, I could see where Aubrey had marked the expected levels of certain areas as well as what type of enemies should be there. Most times monsters would stay in the same area, but they could change locations.
Seeing where the Mimics were, I wanted to try fighting some of them. I wasn’t after the materials, I just wanted to know what it would be like to fight myself. With a bit of eagerness, I checked the route to take and asked Aubrey to go there. Meekly nodding, she starts walking as I keep an eye around us, the moment we walked down a connecting tunnel we would no longer be on the safer path.
The last time I was here I had exhausted myself quickly since I had been venting my emotions, not thinking of the long term. This time however I planned to take it easy, back off if too many monsters appeared and ensure that we could be down here for as long as possible. Opening my Status, I noted my current experience.
Status
Alisha, the Aspiring Hero
Race: Mystic Lunar Fox Level: 24 Experience: 40,000/140,000 Class: Lunar Fist of the Wind Class Level: 1 Class Exp: 1,000/50,000 Subclass:
Apprentice Chef
Occupations:
Adventurer Grade: Bronze Rank: A
As we walk along, something appears in front of us in my vision. After experimenting I found I could zoom my vision in when I add mana instead of starlight into my eyes. I don’t know how it worked, the System didn’t mention this benefit at all, but it became handy for cases like this. In front of us are three humanoid shapes, not human. I immediately recognized them as Mud Golems. Their weakness ranged from Water Magic to Ice Magic.
Telling Aubrey this, she nods and we switch positions. Once we get within ten metres of them, I focus and gather Astral magic, forming a half dozen Astral Glacial Spikes behind me. I wanted to test out their range. If I could impale enemies before they reach me, it might make the fight easier. Keeping in mind the mana usage, I fired off two of the spikes towards one of the golems.
Watching with a bit of surprise, the spikes slam into the golem easily, spreading their coldness as the golem turns towards me and charges. The other two do the same as I fire the other four at them. Missing one spike, the other three hit true and I could see and sense that the coldness of the starlight energy was spreading throughout them quickly.
Satisfied with the results, I wrap wind around myself and move in on the golems. Their attacks were fairly simple to avoid, the danger came from the Earth magic they could use to bind people down. A weakness they also had are their cores, however, since we wanted the cores I needed to avoid them.
Gathering Lunar magic into my fists, I found it surprisingly more powerful and potent than before to use Star Dust Fist. I felt there was something more I could do with this spell, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. Not minding it, for now, I slam a fist into the closest golem, right where it had frozen from the spikes. Hearing a loud crack ring out, I pivot and dodge an attack from behind, igniting my leg and swinging out a Lashing Fire kick.
Feeling my leg strike, I saw a fire spring up and ignite the golem into flames, conflicting with the frozen area. It didn’t seem to realise it was on fire, or it ignored the flames, either way, I sensed a surge of mana coming from it. Knowing what was coming, I jumped back as chains made from Earth magic sprung from where I had stood.
Looking at the golems and the damage I had caused to them, one was nearly completely frozen, another was slowly melting away due to the fire and the other was also nearly frozen but had a huge chunk missing from it.
Frowning slightly, I wondered if there was a way to speed up the process of freezing these golems. Looking at the spike stuck in a golem, what would happen if I combined Astral Ice magic with Wind magic? Pushing out a palm, I imagined a freezing wind and remembering the blizzard, I used that to build the spell. Feeling a bit of mana leave my body, I focused on using that mana to combine the two different energies together.
From my palm a magic circle appeared, about the size of my head and a strong wind came from it. Feeling the freezing temperature from it, I watched as the golems very quickly froze, the golem that was on fire had it extinguished very quickly. Cutting the magic off, the magic circle disappeared as I moved in and slammed a fist into the closest golem, shattering it easily. Doing the same to the other two, I got System messages saying that I had defeated them
You killed Minor Earth Golem, gained 5,000xp
You killed Minor Earth Golem, gained 5,000xp
You killed Minor Earth Golem, gained 5,000xp
You have created a new spell: Astral Ice Wind.
Using a mix of two types of magic, create a devastating freezing wind that matches the might of a blizzard. This is a unique melded magicks that requires a magic circle to direct the wind.
Cost: 1,500 Mana Initially, 100 mana per second while channelling.
Looking over the details of the new spell, this suited me very well for fighting by myself. Again, I wondered if it really is meant to be this easy to create new spells. Ever since I tried learning Astral Ice magic, I have felt like something within me knew how to create spells or utilize different types of energy rather quickly.
As I’m thinking over this while looking at my palm, I heard Alice cry out “Kraa!”. I forgot I had planned to have her assist me to get her experience!
“I’m sorry Alice, I got too into it, next lot of monsters we’ll fight together!”
“Kraa!”
Feeling a strong annoyance through our link, I felt a bit guilty since I had promised her to fight together down here. Grabbing her from my head, I stroked her head which she accepted.
Looking at the golems, I saw Aubrey already working away gathering the materials I could. She had mentioned it didn’t matter about the golems as the only valuable materials were the cores so I could do what I wanted with the rest. She finished rather quickly as she nods at me and we continue, Alice in my hands this time.
***
It didn’t take long to come across a new enemy, and even from a distance I knew what it was. After all, I knew how I looked. Stumbling slightly towards us is another me, except it had red hair and eyes. Sensing a familiar energy from it, I knew what it was about to unleash.
Surging from the Mimic is a Domain, and it spread quickly, enveloping both Aubrey and I. Glancing around, this Domain looked…broken. It seemed to be trying to use my Domain, but had failed miserably. The night sky is empty of stars, the lake below me murky and shallow and it felt incomplete. Glancing at Audrey, she had turned white in fear, muttering something before looking at me.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I knew she was about to say we needed to escape, so I smile at her and turned back at the Mimic. Scanning its information, it’s like I had scanned myself.
Alisha
Level 24 Mystic Lunar Fox
Lunar Fist of the Wind
Health ???/???
Raising a foot slightly, I stomp it down while shouting “Domain! Mystical Lunar Starfield”. Bursting forth, my Domain easily shatters the poorly constructed one away, replacing it with mine. It had changed ever so slightly, everything like the stars and lake remained the same as when I used it against Elise, however this time a strong freezing wind blow all around us.
Looking at Aubrey, she actually appeared to be fine. Knowing this is likely because I didn’t see her as an enemy, I look down at Alice. “Let’s do this.” “Kraa!”
Lifting up from my hands, Alice flies up while gathering mana. Wrapping myself with the freezing wind all around me, I used my cold resistance to my advantage and charged at the Mimic. It reacts rather quickly and gets into the Dancing Wind Fox stance, surprising me slightly.
Throwing out a quick it easily dodges as it swings a fist back at me. Dodging, I charge my fists with Lunar magic and pace myself, trying to find an opening while waiting for Alice’s magic to invoke. After a few minutes, neither of us had landed a hit on the other, and I started to realise how dangerous these Mimics could be.
Unlike before, my Domain felt strong and the energy being used had not affected me in the slightest. I felt I could leave it up for at least another ten minutes if required. Hearing Alice cry, I knew she was ready as I jumped back with a kick as a bolt of darkness skimmed past me, hitting the Mimic. Moving in once again, this time my attacks connected, it seemed lost.
Frowning, I knew I could still fight even without my vision due to my strong sense of smell, so unless my opponent was much faster I could still dodge some of the attacks they threw at me. Alice swoops down and lands on the Mimic’s head and starts poking rather hard, drawing blood and surprising me slightly. Remembering the weakness all Mimics had, it was simply to kill them like we were killing anyone.
Shaping my right fist like a sword, I stab into the Mimic’s chest, grabbing the rubbery organ within. Squeezing, the Mimic’s heart exploded in my hand as I pulled it out and dropped it on the ground. The Mimic stumbles for a moment before collapsing, slowly turning into a strange goo. Releasing my Domain with a sigh, I stretch before beckoning to Alice to come down.
You killed Runic Mimic. You gained 10,000xp
You received drop: Bottle of Mimic Liquid
Alice gained 10,000xp
Raising my eyes, I found myself surprised at how much experience Alice gained. That amount of experience is half a level for her! Maybe we could get her a lot of levels down here. Accepting the drop item, in my hand appeared a rather large bottle. Seeing Aubrey silently collecting the core and liquid of the Mimic, I waited till she was done before handing here the bottle.
She had her serious face on this time and when I handed her the bottle she snatched it from my hand and put it in her bag before turning back to me.
“You should’ve told me you had a Domain! If this was a deviant Mimic, it might’ve been more complete.” Sighing, she shakes her head. “Well, what is done is done. Are you still good to go or do you need to head to a safe zone?”
I wasn’t used to this sudden change in personalities from her, but I did prefer this more straight forward and honest Aubrey compared to the shy and meek one that reminded me slightly of Gray. Nodding, I told her I was fine to continue, after all I had yet to take a hit and I had about 80% of my mana remaining. Nodding, she turns and looks down the tunnel.
“We’re about ten minutes from the open area, there’ll be plenty of monsters there, so just take it easy. Thankfully the area you chose has a safe area nearby. I have a magic tool on me that provides a shield in case something happens, so don’t concern yourself with me and fight to your hearts content.”
Walking down the tunnel again, I follow behind Aubrey. As she said, after ten minutes of walking we arrived in a huge room. There was nothing special about it, its like we had walked into a box, cut into sections with huge walls and simple entrances to other sections. With my vision being as it was now, I could see a portion of the room as we stayed at the mouth of the tunnel. Fighting in here would be dangerous as monsters could easily swarm us, and according to Aubrey monsters could appear from nothing.
Closest to us were skeletons, something I’d fought in the past. They travelled in groups of two to six. Other types of monsters were here as well, red slimes that oozed acid, goblins with various weapons, and a large plant-like monster, walking on countless roots with a huge gaping mouth in the middle of it and flowers springing from its head.
Thinking back to the time I had been in the labryrith, I knew how to deal with enemies in a room like this, though this was certainly on a larger scale. I could hear muffled sounds coming from other rooms and with my smell I could tell there were others fighting in different sections.
Looking around, my eyes landed on the skeletons. A group of two were nearby, both with a shield and sword. I knew their weakness was any type of magic and they were very strong in close range. Signalling to Aubrey, she stood back as I summoned four spikes and just like the golems, I fire off one spike at each skeleton, leaving two behind me. Striking true, the skeletons very quickly span in my direction and with a clunking sound they charged at me.
The Astral energy was quickly freezing them, and by the time they arrived at the tunnel, half their body had frozen, spreading from the impact on their midsection and spreading up to their necks. Unable to use their swords and shield, I had Alice attack each one while I kept luring them back, before quickly finising them off.
You killed Reanimated Skeleton Warrior, gained 5,000xp
You killed Reanimated Skeleton Warrior, gained 5,000xp
Alice gained 5,000xp
Alice gained 5,000xp
Alice has levelled to 6!
Folding my arms as I watch Aubrey work, I frowned slightly. I had been told this place was dangerous, Elise had told me over and over to be careful yet the enemies were…weak. Is this normal? Recalling what Elise said about my combat level being higher than my actual level, I wondered if that was the case. I wouldn’t of course just charge in there, after all a Mimic could be hiding among the enemies in that room, but I couldn’t help but feel a bit bored.
As I reflect on that feeling, I keep slowly luring monsters in and killing them quickly, and after about two hours I had gained a lot. In total, I had gained enough to level to 25 while Alice gained another level. We had yet to run into any more Mimics. Feeling a bit tired, I told Aubrey as she nods. Her serious face was currently on.
“Alright, lets head to a safe zone. Elise was correct, you’re much stronger than you seem. Don’t let it get to your head, these monsters aren’t that intelligent and mainly rely on instinct.”
Agreeing with her comment, we walk back down the tunnel we came from. About halfway down, we turned down another tunnel and then another. After thirty minutes of walking and dealing with a handful of monsters, we arrive in a small room.
“No monsters appear in here so its safe. Monsters can still enter so usually parties would rotate guards, but since you’re the only fighter here we’ll make do.”
Nodding, I sit down in a corner and look around. It’s similar to everywhere else, dirt walls and floor, but there are obvious signs of people being in here. Aubrey sits near me as she looks through her bag. Bringing up my System, I saw the notification on hitting level 25.
You can now view your Magic Tiers.
Opening my Magic and Skills, it was as it seemed. Astral, Wind and Lightning were all Tier 1, while Lunar sat at Tier 2. Checking over everything, nothing had really changed. My Stats had increased once again, the same amount as every other level and I could feel myself getting stronger. With my current strength, I could easily lift or crush a boulder the size of a small house, or at least I estimated. I wondered what kind of strength someone like Elise or Flannery had.
Drinking a healing potion, I checked on my injuries, I had some shallow sword wounds and some acid burns, but they barely hindered me in combat. Within this dungeon I had noticed that unless I used my Domain, I wasn’t empowered or weakened regardless if it’s day or night, rather the bonus from my Race never played a factor.
“Aubrey, why am I not gaining Class experience?”
Shrugging, she says “How would I know? It works differently for everyone, maybe you need to fulfil conditions or kill humans. Work it out yourself.”
From her tone I knew she was once again in her serious mood. The Gale Ants had provided me Class experience, and thinking it over the only difference back then was that I had been a level below them. Is that the condition I needed to fulfil? No, when I killed that noble in Crater I had also gained Class experience, so maybe that is another condition, or it’s something else.
Putting it to the back of my mind, I lift Alice from my head and carefully hold her to my chest. She’s sleeping, probably exhausted from fighting for the first time in a long time. She’d kept up with me without complaining and had a high amount of determination. As I’m about to check her Status, I heard scuffling from the door.
Looking up, I saw a young man enter, covered in damaged armour, wounds all over his body and his breath ragged. Looking around, I could see his eyes glowing brightly, most likely his vision magic. Upon seeing me, he looked extremely happy for a moment before his face turn solemn while quickly making his way to me.
“Please help! My party was surrounded by a swarm of monsters, I only just managed to escape. They’re still fighting, please help us!”
Frowning, I had no reason to run into danger to help this man. Hearing a sigh from beside me, I saw Aubrey stand. Looking at me, she explains. “A general rule in here, help others if they’re in danger.” Turning to the man, she crosses her arms and says “Half.”
Nodding quickly, the young man says “You can have it all, please just save my friends.”
Not sure on what they meant, I stood up and placed Alice on my head. Turning quickly, the man nearly ran out of the room as I followed behind with Aubrey. I didn’t get it this rule, but I figured if anything I could gain some experience if I helped.
Running down a series of tunnels, we turn down a particular tunnel, and right in front of us is a young girl with silver hair and silver eyes. My eyes open in shock and disbelief, before I felt an anger arise within me. Aubrey and the young man seemed a bit surprised before the young man stood forward to speak. Before he could, I grabbed his shoulder and threw him back.
“Get back Aubrey. It’s a Mimic.”
Gasping, Aubrey looked at the figure and muttered “A deviant?” As I move towards the fake Sally, anger boiling me as I ready myself.
Sally
Level 26 Vampiric Priestess
Health: ???/???