An hour and a half of navigating the path towards the dungeon, they stopped and found themselves adjacent before the stone door. The stone door stood 3-meters tall and alone with no edifice for it to guard. Zeid circled around the door dumbfounded, asking himself where's the rest of the dungeon is.
Seeing his troubles, Aqueshia spoke up while crossing her arms.
"This is a dimensional dungeon. A gate to another dimension that contains treasures, traps, monsters, and wonders. Within that gate is the dungeon itself, and perils await inside. But as higher the stakes are, the better the loot will be." She spoke then began to touch its exquisite stone wall, causing the glyphs embedded around the frame to radiate a soft light.
"The time inside moves differently than the outside. If you spend three hours in the dungeon, the time that would have passed by here would only be ten minutes." She began to study the glyphs.
"I see."
Zeid glanced atop the door and was greeted by a floating panel.
[Dungeon Gate-Lv10]
37:43:09
[End]
"Maybe it's time I devour some souls now. Just in case the perils inside bypass the speed of my regeneration." Zeid took the ten souls of the dire wolves he ruthlessly killed weeks ago, and the 200 slime souls he got from Aqueshia.
[Soul Transfusion]
Success!
+10 Vit
+5 Str
+3 Agi
[Sprint]
-Enhance the user's movement speed by 20%. Continuous usage would cost mana continuously. The effect will stop if the user's mana is fully depleted or their stamina had faltered.
-----
Success!
+190 Vit
Failed!
Maximum Vitality has been reached. Level up to 10 to increase the maximum by +100.
[End]
"I guess I maxed out my Vitality. The other ten slime souls went to waste."
Zeid took interest in his newly achieved skill. Despite only gaining one skill from the ten slimes, he was far from a disappointment. Not to mention that eating those 299 slimes didn't give him a skill, and if it weren't for his achievement of consuming the four elemental slimes, he wouldn't have obtained the four skills he currently owns.
"Aqueshia, we're going in."
Zeid held the door, and suddenly felt something flying towards them. A silent whistle grabbed his attention and Zeid acted immediately. He turned and pounced towards Aqueshia, pinning her to the ground, and allowing the three arrows to brush past them.
The arrows struck the door, nailing them to it. His eyes widened as he pulled Aqueshia behind the door to take cover as a strafe of arrows rained towards them.
[Arrow Rain]
Raspy noises of the door being struck by the arrows. Grisly rubbles flew around just behind them. But thanks to the fortified 2-feet wide door, the arrows couldn't penetrate through.
"Such power, it's no ordinary ambush. It must be a high-level ranger or some sort." Zeid wanted to look but the following arrow prevented his head from popping out on the side.
"What's happening?" Aqueshia asked terrified.
"Calm down. Situations like this, it's better to calm down and assert logical decisions. Judging from the trail of the arrows, the enemy must be up high in the trees." Zeid took out his knife. "Aqueshia, you can die right here or turn into a blob of slime and hide beneath the ground. I will deal with him. I cannot risk you. You're an important collection to my harem." He narrowed his eyes.
Aqueshia nodded then proceeded to do the latter.
[Warning! Witch Hunter!]
Survive!
[End]
"What? No punishment?" He jokingly ranted.
Zeid took out potions from his inventory, potions that he had received from completing mundane tasks to which that completed his daily system of his.
[Potion of Fortification]
Small
Low-grade
Enhance defense by 20%
20 Seconds
[End]
[Potion of Strength]
Small
Low-grade
Enhance attack by 10%
20 Seconds
[End]
[Potion of Speed]
Medium
Low-grade
Enhance speed by 10%
1 minute
[End]
From atop one of the trees, sat a ranger in a green cloak. The string of his bow fully drawn taut. His eyes hidden under the cowl of his hood and a balaclava enshrouding his facial features. The only thing conspicuous about him is the scar on his left hand on which held the bow. An emerald ring gleamed on his right index finger. A ring that enhances wind-attribute attacks.
"Where are you little shit. Stop hiding…" He whispered.
His eyes sharp and anticipated his target's movement. Soon, a dark figure appeared from the left side of the door and with a quick release, sent the arrow flying towards it. The arrow shot through the dark figure, rippled and nailed through the ground it went.
"A diversion!" His eyes widened in disbelief. The arrow he shot went to an empty cloak. When he turned to his side, he found a strange man standing beside him with a flaring gaze on his eyes. The ranger sneered, took the dagger on his belt, and blocked Zeid's attack.
Clang!
Metal sparks flew.
The ranger pounce away and landed on the other branch of another tall tree.
"What the hell?!"
The ranger was left dumbfounded, causing him to sheathe his dagger, and unleashed another shot of arrows.
[Arrow Blitz!]
Six arrows began to streak at Zeid. He evaded them by jumping up high.
"Fool! The moment you descend, you die!" The ranger draws the string near to his face and an arrow appeared from the empty space.
His eyes and bow followed Zeid descend and at the moment he felt right, he released the arrow. But he received was not satisfaction but dismay. It seemed to him that Zeid's descend was deterred mid-air, causing the arrow to miss below him.
"What the hell happened?! How come this weak-looking guy, evaded my shot?" He scoffed at Zeid.
[Bouyant]
"I'm surprised. You're no easy target." The ranger praised in pretense to derision.
His tone mocked Zeid to be somewhat lucky.
"Same goes for you. I'll praise you for keeping calm. I'm surprised you weren't even startled one bit when I appeared beside you."
"Save the flattery. I truly was startled." The ranger replied while preparing his bow for another shot.
"Maybe for a second but you were able to defend me."
Zeid spoke while keeping eyes on his buffs. The last-second tick, and his speed buff disappeared. Unbeknown to the ranger, the moment Zeid threw his spare cloak, he went in breathtaking speed. On his path, the wind parted ways and caused him to almost suffocate in the path. He waded through the trees, nigh evading them, and pounced towards his attacker. The moment he arrived, his damage buff disappeared and made his assault susceptible to being blocked.
"If I was only able to move efficiently and fluidly, I would have broken his dagger or possibly mine through the impact of the metals. I have to be quicker now since the effects have diminished. I don't think I'm in a position to drink it nor would he allow me once he finds out." He took off his Anti-Aura ring, causing his demeanor to slightly change. The ranger's eyes widened once more. "What's this? He feels different."
Though the effects of charisma were far from affecting him, he could sense a subtle change in his target's aura. Like how Maika felt, the ranger cursed himself for underestimating his target.
"At this range, Kindle shot would snuff out before I would reach him. Create water is out of the question as well." Zeid smiled and raised his chin, causing him to stare lowly at his opponent. The shadows on his face revealed none, but only the gleam of his scarlet eyes.
"You come here and assault me?" Zeid spoke with a deathly tone.
The ranger snickered, then laughed hysterically.
"Don't sweat it, kid. You can't intimidate me. Although It would work on lower-leveled scums like you."
The ranger didn't expect that his target had so many hidden traits. He had been camping here for several days, waiting for the witch's emissary to appear. Earlier then, he found two weak-looking duos ambling towards the door. Kudos to the ranger's logical choice, he observed before attacking. He concluded that Zeid and his partner were weak but unbeknown to him, he was wearing an Anti-Aura ring.
"He's stronger than me. I can't intimidate him too, but I figured out what I should do next. I just need to buy some time.
Lost in thoughts, the ranger saw a chance.
"I don't know how you manage to find me quickly, but it all ends here."
[Ethereal Arrow of Hurricane]
A green radiant trail rippled as the arrow was enveloped in green energy. The arrowhead quivered like a resonating sheen struck by a piece of metal while being surrounded by writhing winds.
"[Bouyant!], [Spint!]" Altair screamed, causing his system to force activate his skill, take control of his legs, jump, and plunged Zeid to the ground faster than the arrow could arrive.
This time, the ranger wasn't surprised at all. Instead, he cursed the gods of Seven Seraph Church by giving him an anomaly as an opponent.
The arrow grazed his shoulder, causing excruciating pain to invade his mind. The speed of his descent contributed to another sense of pain followed by vertigo. He felt like his brain had rammed all around his skull. Losing the balance of his gait, Zeid fell to the ground.
The bones found on his legs would have fractured or even worse. Thankfully, his high vitality contributed a strong effect on his constitution. But the damage left by the arrow was nigh beyond the range of his vitality's regenerative effects. Although his vitality was at 500, the effectiveness was still dependent on the user's level. So if an attack came from a level 20 or higher, his level 7 maxed vitality still would suffer. It's a matter of quality over quantity.
HP Bar 67%
The graze left not a scratch, but a wide laceration caused by the raging force caused by the speed of the arrow, the arrow's magical effect, and the writhing movement of the air. A huge part of his flesh was removed from his shoulder.
Zeid bit his lip and muffled a shriek. His eyes flashed, ran towards the location of the tree where the ranger stood on.
"He's courting death. I see."
He draws the strings.
[Etherea~]
Suddenly, he could feel a violent tremble on his feet.
"What the…" The ranger loosened his draw and the ethereal arrow dissipated into light particles. Soon he felt the tree tipping over and realized that the tree was beginning to fall. The tree has been uprooted!
[Earth Manipulation!]
Zein clenched his fist as he molded the ground around the stump of the tree. Its roots sprouted upwards, causing itself to uproot. The unbearable pain soon caused Zeid to grimace, kneel on one knee as he placed his hand around the wound.
"I have to escape. I can't win." Zeid desperately endured the pain. If it weren't for his damage reduction, his HP could've plummeted down to 30%.
"Just what is this guy's level?"
Zeid quickly headed to the dungeon gate, hoping he could heal himself there. As he noted, 3 hours there is only worth ten minutes outside.
The ranger on the other hand struggled as he held on to the branch. The tree crashed on the other trees, causing it to violently shake on its descent. The ranger held rigidly on the branch as he went down on a crazy ride. The moment he neared the ground, he pounced and made a safe roll.
"Damn you!" The ranger teetered on his feet but quickly regained his gait and rushed to Zeid. His bow broke as he ceased his hold on the bow in order for him to safely grab the branch. With his dagger unsheathed, he sprinted towards Zeid.
[Sprint!]
Failed. Not enough mana.
"Damn it. I must have used all of my mana from using sprint and buoyant twice. Not to mention, molding the ground taxed me as well!" Zeid ran at his own speed.
"You're dead!" The ranger exclaimed angrily as he pounced at Zeid, causing him to crash open the door.
Both entered, then the door slammed shut on its own.
[Welcome to the Dungeon!]