After leaving the dungeon, I grabbed a taxi .
By doing this, I was able to level up, but I was not able to obtain the weapon I wanted .
And the B rank stones, even though I was investing time, I was not able to take them back since I couldn't clear the dungeon .
It cannot go on like this .
"Thank you . Take care . "
The place I arrived at was the Awakened market near the level 18 hunting grounds .
After leaving the taxi, I went to the biggest market there .
It was because I was buying a high class item .
In the store, there were many customers present .
While I was wandering aimlessly, a 20 year old female store employee came towards me .
The average male would not want any employee to come and help them .
I felt like there was no point in coming to the large market .
The employee was someone who spoke business like .
"Welcome . "
"Yes . Hello . "
"Is there something you are looking for?"
"Trying to purchase a Necromancer skill book . "
Yes . High ranking magic attacks have anti healing properties, like a rice cake painting .
It was something that I couldn't even dream about with the money I had .
That's why I was planning to buy the cheaper alternative, a debuff skill .
It had the same effect, but no one but the Necromancer could use it, since there would be a 10 times the mana cost penalty .
"Necromancer skill book . Please come this way?"
Following the guidance of the employee, we headed towards the corner of the store .
Unlike the small markets near home, there were many guards looking over the place .
Each armed to the teeth, that is .
The inside of the market was divided like a bookstore, and none of the actual items were on display, as only pictures of them were hung up .
Even the half A rank weapon I used was hung up as picture in a corner .
"This is where the necro skill books are, but what are you looking for specifically?"
"'Lower Resist' and "Un-Recoverable' please . "
"Understood . Lower Resist is over here, and you said Un-Recoverable?"
She turned towards me to confirm .
"Yes . "
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"But why are you saying it in such a difficult terminology . You can just call it anti healing skill . That's what everyone calls it . It's not like there is another 'anti healing' magic found in any other schools of magic . "
"Ah… . . I just memorized it the way the encyclopedia had it written…"
"Guess it hasn't been long since you became an Awakened . "
"Yes . "
The employee smirked and spoke .
After picking up the two skill books, she continued .
"Did you need anything else?"
"Healer class attack power buff skill book as well . "
"Yes . Understood . "
As soon as I finished talking, two guards by the wall headed towards me and the employee .
'Oh? What the . '
Without thinking, strength went into both my arms .
Looking at my eyes that went wide, she plastered on a fake smile and spoke .
"Out of all the items at our store, the skill books are considered one of the most prized possessions . That's why there are guards that come along when we bring them out . Sorry if it surprised you . "
"Ah… Yes… . . "
I guess it made sense since the Necromancer debuff skill book alone was $60,000 1, and then to buy the attack buff skill as well .
It didn't take long for me and the employee to arrive at the counter .
With the two guards at each side, just like the time with the midgets and the goons .
'This type of situation… . I dislike it for some reason . ' was my thought process .
Finishing the transaction, I boarded the taxi .
Learning all three skill books, the taxi was slowly heading back .
It was annoying to have to raise the level of the skills each time I obtain one .
However, only by raising the levels of the skills do their true values show, so there was no other way .
I had to hit the most amount of monsters possible to level them up quickly .
Back to the manticore dungeon . It was like a training room to me now .
* * *
After investing three hours to raise the skill levels up somewhat…
I was in front of the level 18 dungeon once more .
Half the time for hunting was wasted .
It was because I had wasted half the time set aside for hunting on a dungeon that didn't return much .
But it was for the perfect clear on the level 18 dungeon today .
The dungeon was pitch black .
I was sure, but just in case, I pulled two mobs first .
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Then I casted Lower Resist and Anti Healing on them .
On their chests, an inversed triangle and x shape formed one after another .
With this, debuffs are complete .
Quickly casting the attack buff on myself, I casted Gravity Laser .
With incredible thickness, it penetrated their bodies . 2
Riddled with gaping holes, red blood sprayed everywhere .
It didn't heal . The debuffs were showing definitive effect .
After confirming the effects of the debuff, I casted my shields and ran towards them .
And just like the griffon's final attack, I aimed to use my Fire Shock to finish them in one go .
Below me was a sea of flames .
The griffon's sharp feathers became imbedded in the shield, but they were merely ashes slowly cooling .
"Good . "
Other than the poison spit attack from the naga, nothing could approach me without dying .
The only thing I'd have to worry about when pulling a vast amount of mobs is the griffon's attack .
Pulling all the monsters in the dungeon, I casted Frozen Shield and Spirit Armor .
Frozen Shield shatters after taking a strong attack .
Previously, it shattered from the kelvacore's brace attack in one go .
That's why I casted Spirit Armor over the Frozen Shield for additional safety .
Then the debuffs, followed by Fire Shocks to those that cannot recover .
Meanwhile casting Gravity Laser to torment them in between .
Out of all my defensive skills, Reflect Shield provided the most reliable protection .
That's why I left it in case the hidden boss appeared, as well as for Louver .
If there was no cooldown, there would be no need for this .
With my perfect plan, I was able to annihilate them cleanly .
Other than the time it took to take down the two, it only took 10 min .
All the fallen's soul was absorbed by Louver .
It was about time that it showed its face .
However, it went back to hiding in the center of the dungeon .
-SQUEEEAL!
I heard the sound of a pig .
The boss had appeared .
To think that a hidden boss would appear on my first clear of the level 18 dungeon .
There was no way to hide the excitement on my face .
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If I was lucky, I'd be able to obtain the weapon I want in a single day .
With that in mind, I ran towards the center of the dungeon .
"Wow… . Chicken, snake soup, and now pork?"
The pig was about 5m in size .
It was a bipedal pig, carrying a mace the size of its head .
With its other hand, it held onto a circular wooden box .
Its attack power was low, but the item in its left hand was dangerous .
You could think of it as a bomb that caused a massive explosion .
If I was able to avoid that one attack, I could probably beat it up without any problems .
"However, that guy hiding over there bothers me . Just you wait . "
Only for a moment did the stare down with Louver went .
'Gwidon' started to charge at an incredible speed with its head nearly touching the floor .
When it came close to me, I casted the debuff and self buff at the same time .
The noise it made as its body crashed with the ground . The ground shook and I could feel the pressure from it .
The mace was raised above its head and came crashing down towards me .
But thanks to its large body, there was no way such a slow attack would hit me .
It swung through thin air and embedded the mace into the ground, it immediately tried to raise it again .
I ran behind it, and got on its back .
Holding onto its hide, I began to cast all my skills with reckless abandon .
From experience, at close range the Lightning Spray is a lot more effective than the Gravity Laser .
Through hunting, I knew it would do massive amounts of damage to its internals .
Even if Gravity Laser was an A rank skill while Lightning Spray is a C rank, depending on the situation, it could be super effective .
The flames from Fire Shock flew about, its back becoming charred black .
From its nose, mouth, and ears, black smoke came out .
It was obvious that it had suffered terrible internal injuries .
Even while casting the spells, my mind was focused on its left hand .
The mace was in its right hand . With its short hand, it could not hit me while I was on it .
It seemed that it has decided on something, as it raised its left hand up and tossed the bomb in the air .
'Reflect Shield . '
Instead of just going down like this, it seemed to have wanted to get me off even if it meant taking damage as well .
-BOOM!
The wooden container that left its hand exploded with a deafening noise .
At the same time, it knelt down and lost the life in its eyes .
It didn't die just because of the damage from the explosion .
The boss wasn't stupid enough to suicide .
It was because of the damage reflected by the shield .
Since the Reflect Shield had reached level 100, the reflect chance was 30%, while the damage returned was 60% .
It had reflected more than half of the immense amount of explosive damage .
Even if the shield didn't reflect, it was going to die anyways .
But this makes it a lot easier .
While I was trying to loot the drops floating above 'Gwidon'… .
Reaper Louver became a solid form and started to move .
This was the second time I entered this dungeon, but I was already beginning to grow tired of it .
It has not even been 20 minutes yet, but being stared at by those eyes that keeps following me…
Didn't feel like 20 minutes, but over 2 hours .
* * *
Using the attack skills of the monsters it absorbed .
And it even absorbed the soul of Gwidon .
It wasn't an easy fight .
That's what I thought as I looked at its ethereal corpse embedded into the ground .
Investing $100,000, I had only learned 3 new skills .
But thanks to those skills, I was able to clear it for less than half the time it would've taken me .
A dungeon that required the skills of 5 to 6 different classes .
But I found a way to solo it .
I went next to Gwidon's corpse .
Looking it over, I could not see any weapons .
However, like a hidden boss, it dropped a huge B ranking bloodstone and a skill book .
It should have a huge price differential compared to the C rank stone .
Taking all the loot, I went to the corpse of Louver .
It did not drop any stones, skills books, or even weapons .
But I saw a shiny bracelet floating above its corpse .
"Ara ara . "
With the skill book, bracelet, and a fortune, I immediately exited the dungeon .