[You unlocked the Life Thief Talent Tree.]

[New Auxiliary Skill obtained!]

[Magic Funnel]

Talia focused on the Skill and immediately grasped its effect.

[Magic Funnel], not unlike [Blood Confluence], was a passive Skill that stayed on at all times. However, unlike [Blood Confluence], it didn’t enhance her overall combat capabilities but instead allowed her to do something extremely specific that she had been looking forward to for a while.

So far, [Blood Siphon] and [Ravenous Wounds] had allowed her to absorb Stamina and vitality, meaning that she would recuperate in terms of physical condition and be able to heal from wounds through them. However, she had not been able, at least up to this moment, to absorb Mana.

And that’s what [Magical Funnel] allowed her to do.

“It’s not a Charisma-enhancing effect,” Talia said to Keanu, “but it’s not disappointing. I can now funnel Mana using my Skills. So, if you’re running low, let me know. I’ll keep one of the carcasses flush with vitality and convert it to Mana for you.”

Keanu groaned.

“Great.”

He had been getting a little of the experience from the Abyssal Jaws that Talia had been killing, but that had been it. He wasn’t going to benefit from this nearly as much as Talia, but having asked Talia to become her Shield, Keanu was pretty happy for her despite his brooding.

* * *

Talia and Keanu kept this routine up for four days straight, searching the Abyssal Jaw Dungeon for clues.

However, Dimensional Dungeons were extremely large and hard to surveil. It wasn’t bad since it meant Abyssal Creatures would have to swell to incredible numbers before spilling out, given all the space and Mana they had for themselves here, unlike the Placid Cave, but it also meant it was hard to get a hang of the territory and finding any specific part of it.

More importantly, however, Talia had made incredible strides in acquiring more Charisma and was now close to gaining her 15th point through [Ravenous Wounds] and [Blood Siphon].

Talia emerged from the muddy waters she had grown accustomed to by now, her body still tingling with the rush of power from her latest kill. As she climbed onto the small patch of land where Keanu waited, she felt the familiar sensation of a notification in her mind.

[You have slain Abyssal Jaw Level 28!]

[You have absorbed Lv. 28 Abyssal Jaw Life Force.]

[+4 to your Primary Mana Channel (324/1000 to Level Six)]

[+4 to your Charisma (111/111 to 1 Charisma)]

[You have gained 1 Charisma]

[Name: Talia]

[Age: 17]

[Class: Lifestealer Lv. 26]

[Rank: Adept]

[Primary Mana Channel (Water): Level 5 {Flowing} (324/1000 to Level Six)]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Blood): Level 7 {Surging}]

[Secondary Mana Channel (Dark Water): Level 3 {Awakened}]

[Core Skill #1: Blood Siphon Lv. 27]

[Core Skill #2: Hemomancy Lv. 28]

[Core Skill #3: Eyes of the Abyss Lv. 17]

[Auxiliary Skill #1: Missile Swimming Lv. 28]

[Auxiliary Skill #2: Crimson Wisdom Lv. 16]

[Auxiliary Skill #3: Blood Confluence Lv. 18]

[Auxiliary Skill #4: Tailwind Lv. 5]

[Auxiliary Skill #5: Ika Toto - Blood Tide Lv. 17]

[Auxiliary Skill #6: Magic Funnel Lv. 12]

[Form Skill #1: Cursed Form Lv. 5]

[Strength: 40]

[Agility: 7]

[Constitution: 3]

[Intelligence: 1]

[Wisdom: 0]

[Charisma: 27]

[Free Attributes: 0]

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[Talent Trees:

Bloodborne Warrior (1)

Carmine Thunder (1)

Sanguine Guardian (1)

Hemomantic Artisan (1)

Crimson Sage (1)

Life Thief (1)

]

[Free Talent Points: 6]

Talia had gained four more Levels in the past four days. She had also absorbed so many Abyssal Jaws that her Primary Mana Channel had leveled up and was now Level 5. Her Skills, however, were the ones that had undergone the most dramatic improvements. [Blood Siphon] had gained 12 levels because of her constant use, and [Hemomancy] had gained eight. But the Skill that had gained more levels than any other had been [Missile Swimming]. It had slowed down the last day, but being constantly underwater and using it to move and fight the Abyssal Jaws meant that it was effectively the Skill she'd used the most.

Thanks to the fact that she had now gotten [Magic Funnel] and could regenerate her Mana, Talia, and Keanu had been fighting for four days straight, taking only one night of full sleep to stop before moving deeper into the Dungeon after they had located what they believed was the zone where the boss resided.

Talia had gained five new Talent Points from leveling up her Skills and reaching and going above Level 25 in her Class. Not only that, but all the Charisma Attributes that she had gained had made a significant impact on her control over [Ravenous Wounds]. Now, she could almost stop herself dead in her tracks when she felt the hunger overcoming her senses, but it was almost, not fully.

Only now, after getting one more Charisma and having spent all her free Attributes into Charisma, Talia had been able to get the Perk that came from having more than 25 Charisma points. She had just dumped all her free Attributes into Charisma, now at 27, and she heard the Perk notification in her mind.

Perk: Feat of Charisma

Unlocked when reaching 25 Charisma Attributes.

The effect of Charisma increases by 30%

Talia told Keanu to stand back. Then, she activated [Ravenous Wounds].

This time, the small blood tendrils appeared over her body as she felt fully in control. She just stood still for a minute, waiting for the hunger to overcome her senses as it usually happened. But while the hunger pounded at the back of her head, she felt in complete control. She had made it. Talia had finally gotten complete control over this tremendously useful Skill.

Talia deactivated [Ravenous Wounds], a satisfied smile spreading across her face. She turned to Keanu, who had been watching cautiously from a safe distance.

"I've got it under control now," she said, her voice filled with a mix of relief and pride. "Let's head towards that concentration of Mana I spotted earlier. I think we might find something interesting there."

Keanu nodded, summoning his Mana Board. "Lead the way."

They glided across the murky swamp waters, the landscape eerily quiet. Over the past four days, they had nearly wiped out the Abyssal Jaw population in this part of the Dimensional Dungeon.

Now, only the occasional ripple in the water hinted at any remaining life beneath the surface.

Talia thought of her mother as they neared the central zone.

Had she stood where Talia stood now, years ago? What secrets had she uncovered in this place?

After about an hour of travel, a structure began to emerge from the mist. As they drew closer, Talia's eyes widened. Rising from the swamp waters were the ruins of what appeared to be an ancient, sprawling temple-like structure.

Huge columns stood broken and covered in vines and moss. The roofs of all the structures had collapsed, leaving their interiors open to the sky.

"This has to be it," Talia murmured.

They dismounted their Mana Boards onto a partially submerged stone platform that might have once been the temple's entrance.

Cautiously, they went inside, their footsteps echoing in the cavernous space.

It was a series of connected rooms that stretched for probably over a square mile.

“I think this is a destroyed city,” Keanu said, confused. “Inside a Dungeon, though?”

Talia shrugged and approached the nearest wall, her hand hovering over some paint that still seemed to contain Mana. She had spotted it thanks to [Eyes of the Abyss].

She wiped the moss away and took a step back.

“The Kraken,” Keanu said, frowning and standing by her side.

The mural depicted the Kraken emerging from the waters, surrounded by my people.

“Is that Luminescent Water?” Talia asked, pointing at a figure with tendrils of yellow paint around it.

“I think so,” Keanu got closer and squinted.

Most of the figures’ paint, however, had been scratched off, and it was hard to tell who or what they were supposed to be or be doing.

Talia tried uncovering the rest of the wall, but the paint there was destroyed, and nothing could be seen on it.

“The Mana in the paint probably ran out, and it got destroyed,” Keanu said. “I’ve seen murals like this before, though.”

“You did? Where?”

“Where I come from,” Keanu said with a troubled expression. “But nothing much. Just very basic stuff. There was probably more, but it was inside our forbidden grounds.”

“Hm,” Talia mumbled, curious.

They delved deeper into the ruined city—or temple.

Their footsteps echoed off crumbling walls, amplified in the eerie silence. Shafts of dim, orange light filtered through gaps in the ceiling, casting long shadows across moss-covered floors.

As they navigated the labyrinthine passages, they encountered no more murals.

In one chamber, a partially intact fresco depicted a colossal figure emerging from roiling seas. Its lower body was obscured, but multiple arms stretched toward cowering humanoid forms on a shoreline. Talia felt a chill run down her spine, recognizing the unmistakable silhouette of the Kraken.

The fresco seemed to continue into the adjacent chamber, but as Keanu was about to walk there, Talia put a hand on his chest and one to her lips, gesturing to remain silent.

She had kept [Eyes of the Abyss] active to scour for more murals and find more information about this place, but she had just gotten a glimpse of what she believed to be the Boss.

There had been no Abyssal Jaws on the way, but that could have been justified by the fact that they preferred to be underwater. Usually, Bosses would pray on weaker monsters to absorb their Raw Mana and grow stronger.

Now, Talia focused on the next room and, piercing through the walls thanks to her Skill, saw a hulking form sleeping on the floor.

“Let’s do it,” she whispered to Keanu and focused on her wrists, channeling the Raw Mana that the marks continuously absorbed from the environment and burning the vitality in her Blood Water to summon her most powerful Affinity.

A viscous, inky substance started coating her hands.

Talia knew the Boss would be at least Level 30, which meant she couldn’t hold anything back. So, she completely merged the Dark Water and the Blood Water inside her body.

Suddenly, a notification rang in her head.

[You activated Cursed Form.]

Runes snaked along her skin, acting as conduits for the Raw ambient Mana and being pumped inside her body, empowering it beyond her limits.

She dashed inside the chamber, where a hulking Abyssal Jaw Boss shook itself awake as it perceived her arrival.

[Abyssal Jaw (Boss) - Level 31]

Excluding the Abyssal Torpedo Drake, this was the strongest monster she had ever faced.