With a new path to power laid out for Rey, he was even more excited to risk his life battling the Beasts in this dungeon. Now supplied with this new information, Rey was even more glad that he brought Dia along, as him and Kazumi will be able to power-level her up to a decent cultivation stage.
With Kazumi already at the Low-Advanced stage, Rey and Dia were given priority on the Beast Cores. And after continuing down that long path and surviving a few more skirmishes with the vicious Flesh Hounds, Dia was finally able to breakthrough into the Novice stage, while Rey jumped up to Peak-Novice.
Rey and the others were exhausted at this point. This dungeon was nothing like the traditional ones that Rey experienced in his VR games, as the guerilla warfare aspect proved to be very draining. Large groups of Flesh Hounds would stalk and then attack them from the dense forest randomly, making them always stay on their toes and exhausting them mentally.
Though it was draining, they couldn't deny that the situation had forced their sensing abilities to improve. Rey now had a firmer grasp on his Sensor abilities, allowing him to have an almost radar-like ability at all times that sense up to 10 feet around him. Dia's Perception had improved markedly, as she was able to see the farthest, and could spot even the slightest movement when the Flesh Hounds were stalking them.
Kazumi probably developed the most broken ability, as his {Smokescreen} ability that could spread out to about 15 feet around him, could now roughly detect any movement as well as mask him and his allies.
Alternating between Rey and Kazumi to sense the Hounds while they rested, it wasn't until after being in the dungeon for a few hours that they finally saw a light at the end of the dark path they were walking.
While Dia and Kazumi seemed relieved to finally get out of that death-trap of a forest, Rey was slightly more apprehensive. He knew that at the end of any dungeon would always be a Boss, who would be far more difficult than the regular monsters they faced before.
With the Flesh Hounds no longer attacking them the closer they got to the end of the path, the more Rey was sure that they were about to walk into a shit storm.
Walking into the light at the end of the path, they all had to shield their eyes due to how blinding it was. When they were able to see again, they were in a large, circular grass-filled clearing surrounded by a wall of trees. Getting an ominous feeling, Rey subconsciously looked behind them only to have his stomach drop. Just like the Boss fights in videogames, an opaque blue barrier blocked their only path of retreat, meaning that unless they killed the Boss, they were stuck there.
Unleashing a bout of curses in his heart, Rey looked around the clearing to find the Boss he knew was there, only for his eyes to open up widely under his mask. Showing that she had seen it as well, Dia clung to Rey's side, shivering like she never had before. Looking over to his other side, even the cool, calm, and collected Kazumi was clutching the hilt of his katana so tight that his knuckles were turning white.
In the middle of this clearing was the largest wolf that Rey had even seen. Even as it laid curled up as it slept, it was nearly the size of the Sea Dragon outside of Sky Keep, and that wasn't even counting the crown of spikes on its head and along it's spine and tail. It had long grey fur that looked incredibly dense, as if it were impenetrable.
"Rey, just what kind of fucked up place did you send us to?!" Kazumi asked in a harsh whisper. Though he seemed calm, it was clear he was also scared to wake the slumbering beast.
"Bro, I don't God damn know! You're in this place for the first time, the same as I am!" Rey whispered back incredulously.
"Look, it doesn't look like we have any choice but to kill the damn thing, so here's the plan. Kazumi, lay a huge smokescreen around the beast while it's sleep. When you do that, I'll..." Rey said as he continued laying out the plan for Kazumi and Dia.
The more Rey spoke of his impromptu plan, the more Dia and Kazumi became more shocked.
"Oh Gods, we're going to die!" Dia whispered in a slight panic as she grabbed the side of her face.
"Calm down, we're not going to die...more than likely. Look, it's the best plan we got so far, and the more we keep fucking around here, the more likely that big bastard is going to wake up and eat us." Rey explained, laying out the reality of the situation.
Kazumi and Dia looked at each other in silence, wordlessly begging the other one to perform a miracle and make a better plan than what Rey did, but luck was not on their side. With no new plan and not wanting the beast to wake up first, Kazumi and and Dia begrudgingly agreed and got into their positions.
As the unlucky one that was picked to initiate this battle thanks to his now, Mid-Advanced level, Kazumi calmly, but cautiously inched his way towards the massive Direwolf. Though this was just a Novice dungeon, Kazumi could tell that this Boss was a step above the other Beasts they fought, and was either already an Advanced stage beast, or very close to it.
It was common knowledge that Beasts were naturally stronger than cultivators who were in the same stage, so people usually had multiple people take down a tough Beast of the same stage.
As a sweat droplet trailed down the side of his face, Kazumi took a deep drag of his cigarette and blew out an impossibly thick and wide plume of smoke, quickly enveloping the Direwolf in the Smokescreen. Still slumbering away, completely oblivious to the fact that it was slowly suffocating in Kazumi's Smokescreen, the giant Direwolf slept soundly until one of it's eyes crept open, as the Direwolf sensed something strange.
As the Direwolf's instincts suddenly flared, sensing danger, it was already too late, as 2 arrows instantly pierced each of it's eyes. The Direwolf let out a pained, enraged howl, as it stood up, showing off just how ridiculously huge it was. As the Direwolf finished howling, it's instincts flared again, but since it was blinded, it could not see where the danger was. Just as it planned to sniff out where the enemy was, the scent of water entered his nose, just before it was slashed, nearly in half.
Thanks to the caster of this Kin ability and their allies being unaffected by the Smokescreen, Rey and the others could see that Rey's crazy plan was actually starting to work.
Rey knew that the Direwolf's capabilities were probably crazy, so while they had the element of surprise, he wanted to try and block as many of the Direwolf's senses as possible. At that point, it wouldn't matter how fast or strong it was if it didn't know where to attack or defend.
Ignoring the Direwolf wailing in pain, Rey gave looks to both Kazumi and Dia before nodding, all of them readying their weapons and charging at the Boss. While the Smokescreen was still active, they had to try and do as much damage to it's legs as possible, preventing it from running around too much.
They each chose a different leg and ran to their positions to attack it. Knowing that they didn't have much time, Rey ran up to the front right paw, that was currently covering the Direwolf's snout as it whimpered in pain, and whispered the incantation to a spell he had yet to try.
"[Spark]" Rey whispered as he felt his Mana travel to his palms, and he channeled it into his staff.
Rey's staff immediately lit up as arks of lightning began chaotically dancing around the top of Rey's staff. Holding his staff like a baseball bat, Rey swung his staff at the knee joint of the Direwolf's leg. A broad smile crept on Rey's face under his mask, as a thunderclap sounded out as the staff landed on the Boss's knee, along with a small explosion of lightning.
It was a truly powerful feeling that made Rey feel like he was a Geth Lord from the 'Star Battles' movies he used to watch as a kid.
The smell of burnt hair immediately filled the air as a large patch of the Direwolf's fur was burned away. Excited that his attack worked and as he was about to attack again, Rey was suddenly sent flying as intense pain covered his body.
"Rey!" Both Dia and Kazumi screamed, as they saw Rey crashing into the ground, narrowly missing a mound of rocks that would've cracked his skull open.
They wanted to run over and check on him, but they had the Direwolf to deal with, as it was now going berserk. A red aura soon covered it's form as it snarled and looked at the direction that Rey crashed. In a flash, the Direwolf swung it's spiked tail at Kazumi who was attacking one of it's rear legs, but luckily he was able to block it with his sword at the last second, but was still sent flying as well.
The only one who didn't get attacked by the Direwolf was Dia, who was a safe distance away with her bow like Rey instructed.
Doing his best to push past the pain he felt all over his body, Rey looked at the Direwolf and growled in anger as his eyes glowed green underneath his mask.
"Just fucking die so we can leave this fucking dungeon, you damn mutt!" Rey roared as he clutched his staff tighter and ran towards the Direwolf again.
Feeling his blood rushing, Rey felt his anger reach new heights as he let out a beastial roar. What Rey or anyone else never expected was for a powerful green blast to burst forth along with his roar, shattering the very ground as it raced towards the Direwolf.
Before anyone could react, the concussive blast slammed into the Boss, shattering and blasting away a huge chunk of the Direwolf's side, exposing the mess that was now it's internal organs. Unable to even howl in pain as it spat up both flesh and blood, the Direwolf fell over as it twitched in pain. The only sound heard in the whole clearing was the strained gurgling of the Direwolf chocking on its own blood, until it eventually died.
Rey was stunned, as despite the pain and exhaustion he felt in his body, what he just did was simply beyond his comprehension at the moment.
'... Jinbe.. what-' Rey asked, barely able to get the question out. Luckily, Jinbe already knew what he wanted to ask.
'Well, Young One, congratulations are in order. Not only were you able to unlock your Kin Ability, I happen to know which family this Kin Ability belongs to. Though I had already made a safe bet based on your unique appearance, but I can say for certain that you definitely belong to Clan Blackmane. Though their current situation is unknown to me, I once fought many battles alongside the Ruler of the Pride Lands, Don Edmond Blackmane.' Jinbe said, dropping a massive knowledge bomb on Rey.
Not only did he unlock his Kin Ability, which was a cause for celebration, especially since it was strong enough to one shot a Novice rank Boss, though the Direwolf was already heavily injured, but he also learned the identity of his family in this world. And strangely enough, the ancestor that Jinbe said he fought with in the past had the same first name as his grandfather from Earth.
Not only that, but Jinbe said that this Edmond Blackmane was a Ruler of some place called, the Pride Lands. Did that mean Rey was some kind of royalty as well? The more answers that Rey got, the more questions seemed to appear.
Rey wanted a nice happy life in this world, and the only way that was going to happen, was if he dealt with his Vanguardian situation and got strong enough to defend himself.
'Maybe finding the Blackmane's might be the answer.' Rey thought to himself as he fell to his knees. That roar he did sapped most of the stamina he had, which he learned was essential for Warriors to use their Ki.
"Rey! Are you okay?!" Dia asked as she ran over with tears in her eyes.
"Calm down, he looks fine. He probably just used up all of his Ki using his Kin Ability for the first time. Congrats, by the way. That roar you did finally took down that annoying Boss for us. Speaking of, how do we leave?" Kazumi asked as he lit a fresh cigarette.
As if waiting for the question to be asked, a large display showing each of their names as well as how many kills they had appeared in the air, alongside a loud feminine voice.
"Congratulations on completing the Novice dungeon. You have 5 minutes to handle all last minute business before you get transported back to your world." said the loud voice as a timer appeared by the scoreboard, showing how much time they had left.
"5 whole minutes? What could we have to do that would need that long?" Rey asked, as he wanted nothing more than to rest in his bed and not move for days.
'Well besides you might needing to heal your wounds, it seems that none of you have realized that the Beasts, including the Boss, have dropped items. Also, if I remember correctly, each dungeon had a chest full of treasure at the ends of the dungeon. It was meant to encourage trainee's to keep training and help them get stronger.' Jinbe said, making Rey's mouth drop.
With a serious expression that they couldn't see thanks to his mask, Rey told the two the same thing Jinbe told him, making all three feel invigorated as they all scrambled around trying to find any treasure they may have missed.
Thanks to his gamer knowledge, Rey ran straight towards the Boss, and was happy to find that there was several items glowing in different colors. There was coin pouch, one of the Direwolf's massive teeth, the Direwolf's Beast Core, a set of Direwolf armor, and lastly was a palm-sized blue orb that radiated a mysterious power.
'Oh, a great find, Young One! The coins and Beast Core are good but fairly standard, but the others are definitely good finds, especially the Direwolf armor and the Skill Orb.' Jinbe informed, with a rare excitement.
'Skill Orb? What the hell is that?' Rey asked, feeling like there was still so many things he didn't know.
'Skill Orbs are one of the most valuable things in this world. Whole wars have been fought over these precious things, and their value is nearly incalculable. Hmm, you know how when you were bound to the Inheritance Scroll and you learn different knowledge at the different stages?' Jinbe asked rhetorically, so Rey just nodded to the obvious question.
'Well, with that method, you still have to study and practice the knowledge in order to truly learn it, but with Skill Orbs, that isn't the case. Skill Orbs have the ability to allow someone to learn whatever skill is stored on it instantly, without the hassle of having to study or practice it. There have been tales of normal, Commoner level people becoming heroes thanks to the skill they learned from the orb. Now, imagine if someone already powerful were to get their hands on one.' Jinbe prompted, but there was no real need for an answer.
With just that explanation, Rey could now see just how truly powerful these Skill Orbs were, and was stunned that they had managed to get one for themselves. Right when he was starting to feel like they were too weak to stand for themselves, this dungeon had delivered one hell of a boon. Sure it was very dangerous and tedious, but Rey finally had his path to true power.