Behind Zyrus's frustrated eyes, there was a tinge of excitement as well. He knew that the situation would be grim. A dungeon break signified that a passageway leading to another dimension would appear on Earth.
“As I thought, You’re a weirdo.”
“I’m just excited for a fight.,”
“I suppose that’s a good thing at times like these,”
“How did it happen?”
“It was a trap. I don’t know who was responsible for it, but the aliens were trapped in that space.”
“What? I didn’t even go to the boss roo- no wait. Damn. It wasn’t a dungeon in the first place.”
“It was a dungeon at the beginning. However, the core didn’t just sit around all this time. Instead of assimilating with the earth, it spent all the time creating a gate to the other side.”
Zyrus sat there in silence as he thought about his encounter. The dungeons were fragments of spacetime, inherently different in nature compared to the stable worlds. He didn’t know when they appeared on earth but it shouldn’t be too long.
In normal scenarios, they would corrode their surrounding and assimilate with them. For example, the dungeon of a frosty world would freeze the surrounding land over time before it completely overlapped with the environment.
That was called a dungeon break. The affected area would then belong to neither worlds and it would become a point connecting the two worlds.
In other words, a Gate.
It was a completely different phenomenon compared to the dungeon formed by nature. Natural dungeons were formed by irregularity and congestion in the flow of mana. They weakened the world's boundary which would allow the alien species to invade.
The type of invasion would be completely different in this case. The possibility of a foreign being in natural dungeons was minuscule. Why? It was like opening a door that could lead you anywhere in the world.
What’s the chance that someone would jump into the door the moment you opened it? The door could open in the air or in the ocean, on top of a tree and even in the middle of a creature.
Now imagine this scenario across a galaxy, a star cluster, and so on. What would the probability of matching spatial coordinates be? After all, both sides had to be free from their world’s boundaries in order to connect.
“Haa... let me get this straight. Instead of a sudden alien invasion, it was an invasion that had begun even before the dawn of humanity,”
“Mhm. They planned it from the start. It wasn’t that the earth didn’t have mana, the mana was stolen and concentrated to create a natural dungeon.”
Zyrus cursed once again as his fears were proven true. Compared to a forceful invasion, one done by a natural dungeon is much easier and more widespread.
No matter how strong they are, other civilizations couldn’t just barge into a new world and attack them. Every world had its own will and laws that protected its residents. They suppressed the invaders to a point where barely a tenth of their power remained.
Of course, this only applied to strong individuals. If the invaders had the same level of strength as the natives, then they wouldn't be suppressed by much.
Zyrus had come across all these information in his time at the arcanist's ruin. Things like other world invasions and aliens seemed far-fetched to him back then. The fact that he’d come to face that same reality was ironic.
“Let’s not worry too much about it. I’ll just have to kill more monsters and summon more warriors from their corpses.” Zyrus let out a deep breath and leaned back on the dried grass.
“There are two more dungeons,”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“That’s good. Just focus on what’s in front of you”
“Yeah. Thanks, by the way. I’ll be able to create a domain the moment I’m back on Earth.”
Indeed, the threads Zyrus saw were nothing else but a domain.
A domain that enveloped the entire sanctuary. It would be an insult to compare it with the domains Zyrus knew of.
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“Don’t mention it. That’s the least that I- no we could do for you,”
“…?”
“Did you forget the man who gave you the chance to come back? Remember this Zy, he chose you not because of your strength. Even the weakest player could become strong if he had the experience of a thousand years. You have to find out why it was you. Only then can you achieve your goals.”
“I’ll think about it,” Zyrus replied while looking at the stars above. He couldn’t deny his arrogance and pride that came with his strength. The events today had shown him a harsh reality, a reality in which he was nothing more than a boat that swayed with the ocean’s waves.
Did that curb his pride? Not at all.
There was only one path in front of him after realizing his lack of power. If he, a normal human could become a monarch that ruled billions of lives, what couldn’t he do in this life? His starting point was hundreds of times better than before.
It was just the ceiling of strength that had become higher. There were more barrios to break and new limits to overcome.
Everything else remained the same.
His eyes shone with determination with each passing second. He had unintentionally limited his goals to defeating the immortals. The fact that there were more things to learn and new heights of power he could reach, made his blood boil in excitement.
This incident had broadened his horizons in a literal sense. His sight was no longer limited to just earth and the sanctuary.
‘If there are people who can invade other worlds, people strong enough to create this sanctuary, then why can’t I do the same?’
This thought presided over all the worries and frustration he had.
“Weirdo.”
“It’s called being ambitious,”
“Yeah.. yeah... Anyway, I have one more thing to say,”
“What?”
“You said it before yourself. Your new trait breaks the balance of this ring. And it’s my job to ensure that this doesn’t happen.”
“Are you going to lock it like the class?” Zyrus tilted his head in annoyance.
“There’s no one who stands a chance against you with earth movement. So you can’t use it. Atleast not when anyone is watching,” Aurora replied with curved lips.
“I knew you’re my best friend! You’ll cover up for me, right?”
“Humph! As long as you know. Also, I’ll help only once.”
“Haha that’s enough. I only need it in the last fight. But aren’t you being too active? You sure they won’t notice you?”
“Some things happened, so they won’t care about a backwater place like this for a while,”
“I have enough on my plate already, so I won’t ask what happened. Regardless, it’s good to hear.”
“Yeah, you should rest for a night. There’ll be a surprise waiting for you when you wake up,”
As always, she was gone before he could muster a goodbye.
Zyrus stretched his sore muscles and rolled on the ground. It was the first time he was missing a bed since the tutorial began.
There’s nothing better than a comfy bed to relieve your mental fatigue.
So, Zyrus did the second best thing that would help him relax and fall asleep.
He checked out his status screen which had changed quite a lot in the last few days.
Status:
[Name: Zyrus Wymar]
[Race: Sylvarix]
[Class: Balaur Summoner (Locked)]
[Level: 12]
Exp: 87,250/135,000
[Title: None]
[Achievement: First Blood in tutorial, Goblin Slayer, First step of the Spearman, Killer of Keliodus, Boss Buster(I), Forged in combat, Shattered in Victory, Gaze of the Predator, Humanity’s Pathfinder, Child of mana, The first Traitor, Spearweaver, Slayer of Tauranox…]
[Talent: Blood fusion (S rank)]
[Trait: Earth Movement]
[Strength: 24]
[Agility: 30 (+5)]
[Vitality: 60]
[Intelligence: 21]
[Mana: 22 (+2)]
[SP: 17]
HP: 2500
Crit rate: 10%
Crit damage: 100%
Poison resistance: 150%
[Basics of Sojutsu], [Eye of Annihilation], [Poison breadth], [Arcane Lance]
[Bloodspine spear (Unique)]
Durability: 250/250
ATK: 65
Piercing rate: 5%
Effect:
The weapon can absorb the lifeblood of enemies to evolve itself. Current rate: 34%
[Lorica Squamata (Unique) (Evolvable)]
A platinum armor made with the scales of Auricrust Crab. The soul of the slain crab has been sealed inside the armor, giving it a chance to evolve further.
Durability: 495/500
DEF +35
By using 100 Durability the skill Lunar Aura can be used.
Lunar Aura: Under the moonlight, you can lift an opponent with 10 level difference and deal 500% vibration damage. The damage will scale with strength and vitality.
Note: The skill will damage the Auricrust Crab’s soul
Note: The skill is an absolute skill, and it can activate regardless of the target's size and state.
[Zubry Solleret (Rare)]
Shoes made from the hooves of Tauranox. They contain a trace of minotaur blood, giving them the skill of a hell beast.
Durability 50/50
Agility +5
Once per day, the skill “Infernal Tread” can be used. At the end of the skill’s Duration, the stats will be halved for 1h.
Infernal Tread: 1m land around the user will be turned into a field of lava. The effect will remain for the duration of the skill.
Duration: 30 min
Note: The skill can take effect on top of material other than earth. The results will vary depending upon the environmental condition and the resistance.
[Bone necklace Totem (Common)]
A crude totem made by the goblin shaman.
Durability: 10/10
Effect: MP +2
Items:
Currency: 2489C
[Durability Scroll x 1]
[Ore of Kothar (Fragment)]
[Fang of Nidraxis (Unique)]
[Scroll fragment (Rare), Durability: 2/3]
[Orc’s fangs x 38]
[Ogre’s heart x 2]
[Vonasos armor (Common) x 59]
The sight of his improved skills and equipment filled Zyrus’s heart with satisfaction. It didn’t matter what challenges lay ahead of him. As long as he kept getting stronger, he knew that things would work out.
It wasn’t just his baseless optimism. There existed a balance among all things. His enemies may be able to tilt the scales in their favor, but still, he would have a fighting chance.
However tiny it may be.
‘That aside, I look forward to how she’ll compensate me for “not using” the earth movement,’
It was the last thought Zyrus had before his consciousness went into a blissful dream.