Nathan regained his balance, dropping his shield and conjuring a spear made of shadows. With a powerful spin, he charged all of his strength and hurled the spear straight at the Goblin Sorcerer. The Sorcerer, trying to conjure another barrage of needles, was caught off guard. As its magic was disrupted, the half-formed projectiles clattered to the ground with a dull echo.
Disoriented, the Sorcerer scrambled to refocus, but Nathan was already on it. A whispered "I got you," slipped from Nathan's lips as he drew his sword and delivered a swift, brutal slash across the Goblin's chest. A crimson red splattered across Nathan’s face and blade, as the sorcerer crumpled, life flickering and then extinguishing from its eyes.
Immediately, Nathan pivoted towards the Goblin King, who had already ripped the shadow spear from its shoulder. The King, gripping its weapon, adopted a defensive stance, fear flickering in its eyes. But Nathan was beyond mercy. After what happened on the third floor, he finally understood how brutal and savage these monsters are, no matter how much human emotion they might show in desperate situations. Suddenly, an unusual feeling began to swell up from within Nathan. A surge of anger and killing intent erupted from within, his eyes tingling and blazing a vivid purple.
Charging with unbridled ferocity, Nathan confronted the King’s desperate spear thrust, effortlessly evading it and countering with a thrust of his shadow sword straight into the Goblin’s chest. The Goblin King would have most likely died from this attack, but Nathan's sudden outburst of anger was not satiated. He drew his sword from the King’s chest and quickly chopped off its arms and legs before letting its crippled body fall to the floor. Hanging on to its last bit of life, the Goblin King screamed in pain. The King’s agonized screams were silenced only by Nathan’s final, decisive act. A stomp to the chest and a swift, clean decapitation. The Goblin King dissipated in a wisp of blue mist, leaving behind a ring with a green gem and a pair of leather boots.
As the anger slowly faded away, and the tingling in his eyes stopped, Nathan, amidst ragged breaths mumbled,
“What the fuck was that?” After a few seconds of contemplation, Nathan recalled the feeling in his eyes while he was in the fit of rage, “The Eyes of Erebus probably caused that.” Nathan stood silently, thinking about the implications of what had just happened, but his thoughts were interrupted by a familiar blue screen
“Congratulations! You have reached level 6”
“Skill: The Eyes of Erebus has reached leveled 2”
“Level 2: Enter shadows and move through them slowly”
“I didn’t expect to level up again in such a short amount of time. I guess when the XP isn’t split between a party, leveling up is easy. And the ability I just got. That should be useful in the floors where I’m not over-leveled.” Nathan's attention turned to the items on the floor, “I guess I’ll check out the drops.” As Nathan began to reach for the items, a new screen appeared in front of his eyes, one he had never seen before,
“Acheivement: You are the first human to clear the first floor of the tower alone!”
“XP and loot quality greatly increased!”
Nathan stood in amazement at the information presented in front of him,
“I’ve heard about achievements before, but to think I’d ever get one, and to be the first person to clear the first floor alone, thats a surprise!” Nathan then turned his attention to the two items dropped by the Goblin King. Unfortunately, the Goblin Sorceror did not drop anything, so Nathan was hoping these items were useful. As Nathan picked up the ring and both boots, blue screens detailing their stats hovered above them.
Berserker Ring [Unique]
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When Equipped:
Strength +10
Constitution + 15
Unique Skill: Beserker’s Rage
Upon activation of the skill: Enter an enraged state for 15s. Strength and Constitution stats are increased by 35%. In this state, you will recklessly attack anything, even your allies. You can also heal minor wounds in only a few seconds, and major wounds will not cause blood loss.
“The system wasn't lying when it said the quality increased. This is amazing! To think I’d get a [Unqiue] grade item on the first floor. Achievements are no joke. And since I’m climbing solo, the only downside of Berserkers Rage is gone. I really should aim to get achievements on every floor.” Excited to see what the quality of the second item was, Nathan glanced over to the blue screen hovering over the leather boots,
Aerial Boots [Rare]
When Equipped:
Dexterity + 5
Unique Skill: Double Jump
Upon activation of the skill: A burst of air beneath your feet allows you to jump and propel yourself while in the air. You need to touch the ground with your feet to use the skill again.
“The stat increases might not be as good as the Berserker Ring, but the utility of Double Jump is great. I’ll definitely need these for the higher floors.” Quickly, Nathan slid the ring onto his ring finger and took off the boots he was wearing, to equip the Aerial Boots.
“Stats,” Immediately a bright blue screen appeared before Nathan,
Hunter: Nathan Pierce
Class: Swordsman
Age: 22
Level: 6
Stats:
Strength: 14 (+10)
Dexterity: 19 (+5)
Constitution: 14 (+15)
Mana: 8
Stat Points: 4
Skills:
(Lv 3) Slash
(Lv 2) Stab
(Lv 4) Dash
(Lv 2) The Eyes of Erebus
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Items Equipped:
Berserker Ring [Unique]
When Equipped:
Strength +10
Constitution + 15
Unique Skill: Beserker’s Rage
Upon activation of the skill: Enter an enraged state for 15s. Strength and Constitution stats are increased by 35%. In this state, you will recklessly attack anything, even your allies. You can also heal minor wounds in only a few seconds, and major wounds will not cause blood loss. You have to wait ten minutes before using this skill again.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aerial Boots [Rare]
When Equipped:
Dexterity + 5
Unique Skill: Double Jump
Upon activation of the skill: A burst of air beneath your feet allows you to jump and propel yourself while in the air. Your feet need to touch a solid surface to use the skill again.
After deep, but not-so-long contemplation, Nathan decided, “The items I just got give me enough Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity. I’ll put all the stat points into Mana.”
Stats:
Strength: 14 (+10)
Dexterity: 19 (+5)
Constitution: 14 (+15)
Mana: 12
Stat Points: 0