'SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT!!'
A loud roar shook the whole room.
'Stay away from it!'
Not only were numerous lightning bolts being shot in random directions from the Guardian's body, but its body was also covered by an electric aura that had damaged Kalès as soon as he got too close.
Despite his high Agility Stat, Mark could barely dodge the lightning-quick attacks.
He had no time to think about his Underlings.
'Should I buy time until it runs out of Mana or Endurance? Will it even run out...'
[You have lost 10 Health Points.]
'Before I die?'
A thunderbolt had grazed Mark's cheek.
He dodged the attacks and ran in circles around the Monster.
The Chimera's whole body was covered by electricity.
'The hole Kalès made in its shell...'
Except for one spot.
'It's not protected!'
Mark briefly turned away from the Guardian and found Kalès on the opposite side of the room.
'Kalès, come!'
The next instant, the Underling turned away from the Chimera.
Without caring one bit about the lightning bolts or the huge Monster trying to kill, he ran towards his Master.
The huge Unique Abyssal Orc Chief grabbed Mark's body.
'Let's do this!'
With great strength, Mark was thrown towards the Guardian.
Mark flew in the air towards the huge Monster, his claws extended in front of him.
'Nice... Aim!'
Once the distance between him and the Chimera was but a few meters, a thunderbolt hit him directly.
Electricity permeated through his body.
'AGHHH!'
Mark's muscles twitched by part of his body was scorched.
Still, it didn't change his trajectory.
Evolving into a Unique Abyssal Weretiger had given Mark great physical strength.
But with that, came tissue, muscles, and nerves.
Therefore, pain.
Mark landed inside the Monster's large wound.
'FUCK! FUCKKK!!'
He used his claws to stop his body's momentum.
It was barely enough to stop him from exiting the hole from the other side.
'FUCKKK!!'
A mix between roars and cries echoed.
'Those lightning bolts... Fuck! FUCK!'
Mark's left arm had been obliterated.
Completely turned to dust.
'YOU FUCKING...! FUCK!'
Channeling the rage and excruciating pain he was feeling, Mark repeatedly slashed the Guardian's body with the claws of his remaining arm.
'WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU EVEN NEED A SHELL FOR?'
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
Mark singlemindedly slashed with his single arm and desperately used his fangs to further damage the Monster.
'ITS MUSCLES ARE SO TOUGH! FUCK'
Once his Mana Points regenerated a bit, Mark either shot Corrupting Arrows or Fire Bombs.
[Your Underling has returned to the dead.]
Mark kept attacking, again and again.
So much so, that it even started seeming meaningless at one point.
'Why won't this fucker fall already??'
But eventually, the lightning bolts stopped.
No matter how big a Monster was.
No matter how high its Stats were.
If damaged enough,
Thump-
It would fall to the ground.
Only then did Mark exit the Monster's wound.
He moved towards the Guardian's head.
It was still alive, but it could not move.
Black blood covered most of its face.
Its mane was tainted by it.
The light in the Chimera's eyes was slowly fading.
'That was...'
Mark quickly turned around.
Only two of his Underlings were standing.
Kalès' body had been scorched.
The side of Light's face was burnt.
'My most durable Underling and my most agile one. Tsk...'
Mark remembered the tip of the Guardian's tail.
He turned towards that tail.
It had completely regenerated.
'Mm...'
Mark drank Healing Potions to get his Health Points back at full.
The pain ceased.
His wounds closed.
But his left arm did not grow back.
'Does this mean I'll stay like this until I evolve?'
Mark walked towards the Guardian's tail and cut it using his claws.
After a second, it started growing back.
'Mm. Must be using Endurance points to grow it back. I'll keep doing this until it runs out of Endurance Points.'
Mark waited for the tail to grow back, before cutting it again.
...
Ten minutes later, the Guardian's tail stopped growing back.
Mark walked towards the Chimera's head.
He inserted his arm deep into its eye.
'Die, you sturdy fuck.'
Once his arm was deeply embedded in there, Mark shot a series of Fire Bombs.
[You have defeated The Ninth Floor's Guardian. 7500 Gold Coins and 15000 Experience Points earned.]
[You have defeated a Guardian.]
[You have been awarded 3 Skill Points.]
[You can now access the Dungeon's Eighth Floor.]
Mark read the floating messages as he started devouring one of the tails he had cut from the Guardian.
After devouring the 10 tails he had cut, Mark started thinking about his next step.
'This is bad. Very bad. My offensive Skills are a joke. And now...'
He brushed over his left shoulder where, minutes earlier, an arm was.
'Tsk. That Life Force Stream is the only reason we won. I also lost 3 of my Underlings. Cer... Fuck. I thought the previous Guardian was tough because I couldn't fight on my own, but... FUCK!'
Enraged, Mark punched the Chimera's unmoving body.
'These 3 Skills Points... The way I use them will determine my rate of survival on the next Floor.'
Mark turned towards his Underlings who were now all healed up.
'Having strong Underlings is important, but it was barely enough against this Guardian. I need to get stronger... Much stronger. My only offensive Skills are Corrupting Arrow and Fire Bomb. Can't I use Skill Points to buy Skills or something?'
[Your request is being processed...]
[Analyzing...]
[Calculating...]
[Your request has been denied.]
'Tsk. At least I know I can request things from the System now. The request has been processed and denied. Means it might be accepted at one point in time?'
[That is possible.]
'Mm. Let's revive this guy for now.'
[You have turned the 9th Floor's Guardian into your Abyssal Underling.]
[Please name your Abyssal Underling.]
The huge Monster was healed up.
Its majestic lion mane became red.
The shell that protected its body was black, just like its limbs.
The Monster's lizard tail was now covered with black spikes.
Mark stared at the Underling with disdain.
'So those Abyssal Horns appeared on its tail... The gorilla had them on his shoulders... Funny how that works. Guess it depends on the Monster. Show me his Status.'
[ Name: (None)
Species & Level : Abyssal Thunder Chimera Lv1 (0/10.000Exp)
HP: 10.000/10.000
Endurance: 1000/1000
Mana Points: 2000/2000
Stats: Strength: 170
Agility: 45
Sense: 45
Vigor: 1000
Endurance: 100
Mana: 200
Skill(s): Great Fire Ball.
Piercing Thunder.
Protective Thunder.
]
Mark stared at the huge Monster that stood in front of him.
His newly acquired Underling lay down on the ground.
It moved its tail from right to left.
The Underling lowered its head, as if bowing in front of its new Master.
'Yeah, you better. You little shit.'
No enemy had inflicted as much pain upon Mark as the Chimera.
And yet, he had decided to revive it.
'I guess reviving old enemies... Is devouring too, right? Not like I wanna evolve into you. Couldn't anyway even if I devoured you...'
Mark turned towards the huge doors that separated him from the Eighth Floor.
He suddenly felt extremely frustrated.
'Fuck!' Mark cursed internally.
He punched the ground with his only arm.
'Just like my Underlings, I, too, was brought back from the dead. I can't remember anything from my past. This is such a pain. All I can do is climb and climb and... FUCK...!'
Mark walked around the room for a bit, fuming.
'At first, it was fine. I got a second chance at being alive. What's not to like about that? But every time... Every damned time, I get so close to death. This was way too close. Every Floor Guardian has been strong enough to take away my life. I just got lucky. I just got lucky... Twice...'
Veins appeared on the white of his eyes.
His arm started shaking.
'Even though I beat all the Monsters on both Floors... They don't compare to the Guardians. They're not even close... I thought I was well prepared, but my strength was far from enough... AGAIN!'
Mark's thoughts started racing.
'Where did I mess up? Was it my Evolution choices? What if I had not chosen the Infernal Hound's Skeleton? Would that have been better? Is that when I messed up? Should I have become a Skeleton Mage? Or that Weakened Inferior Demon? But then... I would not have developed the Skill that allows me to have Underlings...'
Mark walked towards the huge doors that separated him from the Eight Floor.
He stared at them for a bit, before sitting on the ground with his back against those doors.
'This is one Dungeon... One Dungeon out of many, right?'
[Correct.]
'If I get to the Floor at the top, I'll be able to leave?'
[The top Floor of this Dungeon is above the ground.]
[Once it is clear, it is possible to leave the Dungeon.]
'Mm...'
[Temporary Leave will be allowed once the Fourth Floor has been Cleared.]
'Is that so? Good. I mean, that's great...'
Yet, Mark didn't feel that excited about the presented possibility.
'Still, my appearance is... Is there even anything for someone who looks like a Monster to do in this world?'
[That information is unavailable.]
'Right...'
Mark directed his gaze to his Underlings.
'Chimera... Chimera... Kim? Mera? I have no idea how to name you honestly. Still, you'll probably stay with me for a while since you're so strong. Gotta give you a name. How about Kira? Yeah, that sounds pretty good. Let's go with that.'
[You have bestowed the name "Kira" upon one of your Underlings.]
'Three Skill Points... I'll probably get those every time I beat a Guardian. I'll use these three to strengthen myself instead of my Underlings. It really sucks that I lost Infernal Breath...'
Mark shook his head.
'I only have Corrupting Arrow and Fire Bomb. Corrupting Arrow is strong, but it needs time to inflict enough damage on big Monsters. It's a perfect Skill for Monsters without shells. For drawn-out fights. Fire Bomb, on the other hand, is pretty weak. Using a Skill Point on a weak Skill sucks since I don't get that many of them. What else could I use it on...'
Mark suddenly remembered a Skill.
'Maybe what I need is... Weapons?'
The memory of a Skill he hadn't used in a long time rose.
'I'll use one Skill Point on my "Merging Bones" Skills.'
[You have used one Skill Point.]
[Your Skill "Merging Bones" is evolving...]
[Your Magic Skill "Merging Bones[E]" has evolved into "Bone Smithing[E+]".]
'What does it do?'
[Bones from dead Monsters can be used to create Weapons or Armor.]
'Mm. That's what I wanted but...'
Mark wondered for a bit.
'How come I knew that it would turn into this...? No. I didn't know. It's more like... I felt it...'
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't reach an answer.
'Having weapons will help. I'll use another Skill Point on Bone Smithing.'
[You have used one Skill Point.]
[Your Skill "Bone Smithing" is evolving...]
[Your Magic Skill "Bone Smithing[E+]" has evolved into "Bone Manipulation[D+]".]
'So? The difference?.'
[Bones from dead Monsters can be manipulated however the user wants to.]
[Mana Consumption is calculated depending on various factors.]
'Alright. I guess I'll need a dead Monster to try this Skill. But it sounds pretty good for now. Kalès, go back into the Ninth Floor and bring me the first Monster you find.'
The Underling obeyed.
'The last Skill Point... I'll use it on Corrupting Arrow, I guess.'
[You have used one Skill Point.]
[Your Skill "Corrupting Arrow" is evolving...]
[Your Magic Skill "Corrupting Arrow[D]" has evolved into "Corrupting Javelin[C-]".]
Mark decided to try out his new Skill.
Instead of a flying arrow, a black javelin appeared in front of him
He held it tight.
'Weird. Am I supposed to throw it?'
[Correct, but not exclusively.]
'I guess I can also use it as a weapon, huh?'
Mark tightened his grip around the black javelin and threw it with all his strength towards a wall.
The javelin pierced the wall deeply before turning into the black corrupting liquid it was made of.
'It's just like the arrow, but with more power...'
[The Potency of the Corrupting Poison is also higher.]
'I see...'
Kalès came back.
A dead Werewolf was dragged on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind it.
Kalès threw it on the ground.
Mark walked towards it.
He raised his hand.
The bones from the Werewolf's body exited its body and flew in the air.
'Alright. Let's try...'
The bones were broken and reassembled to form a longsword.
The next instant, the longsword was broken down.
The bone fragments flew in the air and encircled Light.
They, then, turned into armor that covered his body.
Mark raised his arm up and the bones let go of Light's body.
'This is pretty handy...'
The bones were reassembled and made a handful of bone spikes.
With a movement of Mark's hand, the spikes flew towards the wall with great speed.
'That's good. Very good. A third offensive Skill is obviously welcomed. It has many uses to. Oh, wait.'
The spikes were reassembled once more and formed a sword.
'So I can use the same bones as many times as I want?'
[Partially correct.]
[With repeated usage, the bones will be damaged and weakened.]
[Once the bones receive a certain amount of damage, you won't be able to manipulate them.]
'Yeah. That makes sense.'
Mark extended his hand forward and grabbed the sword made of a Werewolf's bones.
[You can check your Item's information.]
'Show me.'
[ Item: Werewolf Sword [E-]
A weapon made by using the bones of an average Werewolf.]
'Alright. Let's try this out for a bit. Guess I'll stay on the Ninth Floor for a couple more hours.'