(Location: ???)
A red haired woman with red eyes would sit in her office chair when a knock came at the door to her office.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
After letting out a sigh, she spoke.
"Come in."
The door opened and a man with blue hair came in. His eyes were un-normal as the witness to them was instead grey. His left pupil was red and the right one was purple. White bandages covered the lower part of his face.
"We have gotten a new member. He's from the alternate world"
"Really? Where is he."
The blue haired man stepped to the side, and another man came in. He had spiky red hair, with the edges being black and his eyes were purple.
"So, what is your name?" The red haired woman asked.
"It's Fudo, what's yours?" The red haired man asked.
The woman stood up out of her chair, right before answering.
"I'm Arisa, the leader of this organization."
She then pointed to the man with the blue hair and continued.
"And him, he's Ringo, a tier 3 member."
"So, tell me, what tier will I be in and what do they mean?" Fudo asked.
"I'll test your fighting capability later. But two answer your question, each tier in our organization 'Skull' represents a different threat."
Tier 1= A threat to 1 or multiple lives.
Tier 2= A threat to a small town.
Tier 3= A threat to a city.
Tier 4= A threat to multiple cities.
Tier 5= A threat to a state.
Tier 6= A threat to multiple states.
Tier 7= A threat to an entire country.
Tier 8= A threat to multiple countries
Tier 9= A threat to the entire world.
"Ah, I understand it now. Just letting you know, one day I will be tier nine. But for right now, I'm at least tier 3"
"If you're so confident, how about I put you up against Ringo. Among our tier three members, he's placed at number 1." said Arisa.
"I'm up for the challenge. Just show me where we'll be fighting."
Arisa led Ringo and Fudo down a long and bright hallway.
"You know, your claim to eventually be tier eight is really far-fetched. It would be a miracle to be tier six." said Arisa.
"Being the boss of this organization, what tier are you?"
"Actually, I'm a miracle, to be more exact, I'm a disaster, tier six."
It was an amazing feat to be able to threaten an entire country. There wasn't much to back her claim up but, if what she said was true, she was on par or even greater than a Legendary-ranker.
They stopped as a steel white door stood in front. Arisa placed her hand on the door then, it opened pretty easily. She walked inside, explaining what this area was. It was a large room, at least 300-feet tall and 100 feet in each direction. A specially made room where the fighters would have all the room they needed.
"Now, you two may start fighting." said Arisa.
"But we haven't even counted down yet-" Fudo quickly hit his head to the side as a hand barely missed his face.
"Impressive, you're fast." said Ringo.
In fear of being attacked while speaking again, Fudo took a couple steps back, before replying.
"That's not fair at all. You didn't even give me time to realize our fight was starting."
"Not all things are fair. And you dodged, didn't you? Why are you still complaining?"
The vein on the side of Fudo's head began flowing with blood as he grinded his teeth and tightened his fist.
"I haven't even been here for more than an hour and I already hate you. Come at me."
"Okay tough shit, you asked for it."
They both spirited towards each other at booming speeds and when they got close enough, their attacks seemed like blurry movement. Lights flashed brightly with each of their strikes. This kept on with no sign of ever stopping.
'Already able to keep up with a tier three member? That certainly is surprising but, how long could he keep up.' Arisa thought to herself as she watched their rapid and swift movements.
A wide smile shot across Fudo's face, making his animal-like teeth visible.
"Ha, maybe you should stop." His eyes shined purple and in that instant, Ringo found himself unable to move. It was like he had been paralyzed, obeying every command.
Looking directly in his eyes, Fudo spoke another phrase.
"Go to sleep."
Just as commanded, Ringo's eyes slowly shut and he became unconscious, falling down onto the floor.
Thump.
Because of Arisa's [Analyze] skill, she could see his skills and stats.
Level: 122
Hp: 10,890 | Intelligence: 146 | Mp: 3,450 | Atk: 1,344 | Speed: 522 |
Endurance: 2,310
Skills: Fast fracking, Stunning eye, Sleeping eye, Copycat, Teleportation, )
By his stats alone, he shouldn't have been able to defeat Ringo but, his skills showed otherwise.
"So, what tier shall I be in?" Fudo asked.
"Well, you did win but, don't let that get to your head. If Ringo had gone all out, you wouldn't have lasted a second. You are capable but, you're just not enough to be a threat to a whole city. You will be a tier two member for now."
"That's fine for now. In time, I'll be far greater than any tier."
___________________
Meanwhile....over by Katsuya.
(Progressive Dungeon #94)
Huff...Huff….Huff…
"I said that I would be able to clear the next nine floors but, at this rate...I'm tired out. These Platinum-rank monsters are tougher than I thought."
His eyes stared at the remains of the monsters he had just got done fighting. He had only been winning because of his unrealistic speed but, the monsters seem to have speed boosting skills.
" can't relax now. Here come more monsters."
Tall and muscular creatures with a single eye on their foreheads. Their skin was shiny and silver colored. These kinds of monsters were called 'Silver cyclopses' or a 'silver cyclops' when referring to one. Known for having capable fighting abilities, they earned the nicknames of 'silver disasters'
Now, and entire crowd charged his way.
"I've been thinking of a move that I could take out many in a single strike. This is called …."
[You have activated 3 skills: Brawler, Attack Double, Attack Triple, ]
"....'Annihilation'! "
All the muscles tensed up in his leg as he kicked across the air.
Each monster that was struck had torn apart like a popped balloon.
That was the special move he had created, one where he would activate all of his attack enhancing skills to do the most damage he was capable of.
A silver fist speedily swung at him but it's movement stopped as Katsuya grabbed it.
"Almost had me."
One strike to the face instantly killed the monster, exploding its head like a bomb.
[Warning: 4 opponents activated speed boost]
The side of his face was hit with a forceful blow, so was his chest, and then his back. As he was about to fight back, he was kicked in the stomach, pushing his back.
(Hp: 2,139,495 /2,839,495)
['Double Speed' has been activated]
"I've had enough!"
Moving faster than the speed of light, each monster's heads were ripped clear off. Holding his head in each of his hands, Katsuya then tossed them onto the ground.
"Gross."
The coat he had received from Genzo was in bad shape. The sleeves were ripped off and it was ripped all over. Even Katsuya's shirt underneath was torn. He looked down at his dirty black-stained shoes as well.
"These monsters really messed up my clothes. Still, I have an advantage over the monsters but it feels like they're catching up to my level of speed and strength. By time I reach floor ninety-eight, I'll probably be having a hard time."
"If you're really that concerned about that, then you should claim your rewards already." Said Sora's voice.
"Right. Almost forgot about the quests. I'll claim my rewards now."
[Reward 1: Choose a skill.
1. Servant Pact - Can only be used on someone if they give you consent. When used, you and people connected to this skill will share exp. You will be able to sense their emotions and instantly teleport to their location. You can also transfer you Hp to your servant. Anyone under this contact will have an infinite level capacity until the contract is terminated. To use on an animal or monster, you must tame them first. You can form up to 6 different pacts. You can terminate a contract at any time.
2. Time Slow - When activated, everything around you will be slowed down by 50%. However, you will continue to move at your normal speed. The amount of time this skill stays activated depends on the amount of experience you have using it. Cooldown time depends on the user. When mastered, this skill can last up to two 1 minute.
3. Quick Attack - When used, your attacks are temporarily moving two times your speed. Lasts 5 seconds. Cooldown time: 30 seconds ]
"Random pick."
[New skill learned: Servant Pact]
[Prize 2: Increase a chosen stat by 20%]
His Hp didn't really need to be increased because he did alright at taking small amounts of damage. He was able to move fast pretty easily so his speed wasn't a problem either. If anything, his Atk was the stat that needed to be higher.
"Increase my attack."
[Atk has been increased. 384,120 >>> 460,944]
It seemed like only a small change but, I would make a huge difference in an actual fight. Even though he was now on the level of a Legendary-ranker, he was still weaker when compared to the top rankers.
"I should keep going. There's only sixteen floors left to clear. I want to get it done as soon as possible."
___________________
Meanwhile….
( B-rank dungeon entrance )
Jill stood outside the entrance to a cave, along with a group of adventurers. It was her party, containing 6 members. 1 A-rank fighter, 3 B-rank fighters, 1 C-ranker assassin. Then herself, a D-rank mage.
The A-ranker was a man with blonde hair and blue eyes, his name was Nicolas.
"Are we all set?"
"Yes. Let's head in now." Jill replied.
"Sure but, make sure to stay in the back of us. The monsters inside are B-rank so they could easily one-shot you if you're not too careful."
"I already know that. I have what it takes to hold my own."
A couple days back she had borrowed a large amount of money from her mom. With that money, she bought a bracelet that can increase her magic spells effectiveness up to 500%. She also bought two Pink magic gems and when used, they turn to dust and increase a spell's effectiveness x16.
The total amount of money she spent was $532,000. It was a good thing her family was rich.
Her and her team started making their way inside and walking deeper into the cave.
"Ahh, it really feels nice and cool in here." said one of the B-rankers.
"It's not that exciting, we get weather like that all the time." Another one replied.
"That's true but, don't you think it just feels colder than that?"
"What do you mean? No way it's colder."
They continued to talk as Jill was in her thoughts, thinking about something. Earlier, about 2 hours before coming to the dungeon, she had left Katsuya a text message, asking if he wanted to come along. He didn't reply.
"I wish he really would have come with us." She thought to herself.
Nicolas noticed the look of sadness oh her face.
"What's on your mind?"
"Nothing, really. I'm just waiting for us to come across some monsters but I can't sense any nearby."
"I know you're excited to test out that new spell you've been working on but, just be patient."
"I'll try to be."
Over the past weeks, she had been spending most of her time trying to create spells that could give her an upper hand in almost any fight. At first, she thought that it should be a fire spell or lightning spell, or maybe even a wind spell. None of those were good enough for her so, she used a concept she had hard about in video games, a spell called 'fire bolt'
It was a mix of fire and a lightning bolt, a spell that did burning drudge and even had a chance of stunning an opponent. She was confident she could win in a 1v1 match against any monster, B rank or lower.
"So, who's your favorite adventurer?" Nicolas asked.
"I don't really have one. I guess Amaya."
"Yeah, she's a tough one. My favorite is Kisho, he's the strongest and has really unique skills. Also, he could beat a platinum-rank boss in one attack. If I'm being honest, he really beats Amaya by far."
But just like everyone else in the population, they didn't know the secret of how powerful Amaya really was. The only ones that knew this secret was Jill and her mom, also a few select people from the alternate world.
"Yeah, that's true." She replied, lying.
An hour later…
"Exiting. Those are blood bats" said Nicolas.
A crowd of bats flapped their wings as they came closer and closer. 'blood bats' known for draining adventures mp and hp to recover their own. They were extremely strong but had very low hp. In fact, it was so low that even a c-ranker could kill one.
"Well, I'll let you handle this one, Jill." said Nicolas as he stepped to the side.
"Alright, here goes nothing."
Jill aimed her hand at the bats then chanted.
"Piercing Fire: Spinning Fire."
A ray of heat shot out from her hand, spinning like a drill. It's brightness and heat was so great that the monsters disintegrated on impact.
Swoosh.
Then, the flame completely disappeared. This was a befinfi for Jill, her level had risen.
{Jill : Class: Mage
Level: 43/78
Hp: 214 | Intelligence: 115 | Mp: 111 | Atk: 51 | Speed: 57 | Endurance: 119
Exp: 322/800}"Now that you had your fun, let's keep moving." Nicolas continued advancing forward as the other adventures followed behind, including Jill.
She wondered "Will I be able to reach C-rank before it hit my max level? I hope so, I don't want to stay weak forever."
Her new goal was to work hard and get strong but, the chances she even got much stronger was low. Though hope was not completely lost, there are rare occurrences where when someone is about to reach their max level, their stats will increase dramatically, pushing their overall to even Legendary-rank. Would she get that lucky?
___________________
(Progressive Dungeon, Floor #97)
Katsuya had cleared two more floors in only a short span of time. HIs eyes shined as he looked down at a chest that glowed purple, meaning that whatever was inside was legendary quality.
Kneeling down, he opened it. A purple bladed knife awaited him.
He grabbed its handle and lifted it up in the air, looking at its shiny tip.
"This is…."
{Weapon: Atk: 1,768,912
Durability: 9,871
Perks: Mp Absorb - When this weapon hits anything containing Mp, it will absorb it and transfer it to the weapons holder.
Penetrate - This weapon pierces through any armor or defense}
"....powerful weapon."
By far, this was the most valuable item he had ever come across inside a dungeon. All the monsters on this floor had already been killed by Katsuya; So it was time for him to travel down the stairs that stood in front of him.
After doing so, he was now on floor #98.
"Just two more floors and I'm done."
He held his knife in his hand, ready to fight when he glared at the group of monsters up ahead. They creature ran on all fours and had long white horns coming out the top of their heads. The Look in their eyes was enough to make almost anyone scared but, not Katsuya, he was pretty much a monster himself so, what did he have to fear?
A blood-lust wicked grin ran across his face as he dashed forward.
"Time to lose your life!"
A bright-purple stream of light quickly followed the many swings of his knife. 1 Hit, 10 hits, 20 hits. As he sliced the last monster head off, its blood splattered onto his face and clothes. Looking at all the deceased beasts and their torn apart bodies, it looked like a total slaughter party.
"This feels great. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I still don't like the fact that I'm half monster though."
Even if he did dislike it, there wasn't much he could do to change that fact. Katsuya still looked like a human. The only difference was the change to his eyes color and his personality to some degree. He was still the same person but just an upgraded version.
Katsuya took a deep breath and let it out, walking forward when he finished. His eyes lit up, glowing purple as he disappeared into the darkness.