Chapter 26: Tough Level Difficulty(1)
Aakesh left the store after buying Shadow Blade. Aakesh then changed directions and proceeded toward another store.
Inventory wasn't open for adventurers below Level 10, so Aakesh needed a bag for storing his items.
The bag wasn't like what was there in reality, but it had pockets.
The bag Aakesh bought had seven pockets and cost him two bronze coins. Each pocket had a space of 10 cu. in. and could at most carry an item weighing 1 kg.
Aakesh's shirt pockets were enough to carry coins, so he didn't worry about it. Aakesh then went to a general store and bought some bottles of water and some pieces of fried bread. Only these two items covered four of the seven pockets, but since Aakesh was satisfied, he didn't worry about it.
Aakesh had decided not to return to the town until he reached Level 10, so it was a preparation for that.
Aakesh then turned around and proceeded toward the dungeon. It didn't take him a long time before he reached the area.
Aakesh then joined the queue, and soon it was his turn. Slinger had told Aakesh about the officer trying to meet him earlier, so Aakesh apologized to the officer for ignoring him.
"You don't need to apologize! The town needs more adventurers like you to keep the dungeon under control and stop it from overflowing. The officer smiled and responded. Whatever unpleasant feeling he had regarding Aakesh due to his being ignored disappeared in a blink after the apology.
"Do you intend to try the Tough level difficulty?" The officer asked. The officer had seen Aakesh enter easy and normal level difficulty levels, so he wanted to know.
"Yes, do you have any suggestions?" Aakesh answered and then asked a question. Aakesh had read on the internet that NPCs would help the players once the conditions were achieved.
Aakesh believed the current situation to be one, so he attempted to ask the officer for suggestions. Whether it worked or not, he didn't care. Aakesh had complete confidence in himself that he would clear the dungeon.
"As the moon rises in the sky
A howl echoes through the night.
The storm begins, the winds do moan
And rain of blood falls from the sky
Some seek shelter from the deluge
But none have found a way to hide
For the rain brings the downfall of man
Leaving destruction and despair in its wake
But even in the darkest of times
There is still hope, a glimmer of light
For even the strongest storm must eventually pass
Leaving behind the promise of a new day," The officer smiled and replied mysteriously.
Aakesh looked at the officer in surprise as he tried to remember each word left by the officer. Aakesh had no idea what the poem meant, but he would when he entered the dungeon, so Aakesh thanked the officer and then disappeared from the spot after selecting Tough difficulty.
***
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Drip! Drip! Drip!
The sky was raining and roaring as Aakesh appeared outside the jungle. Aakesh frowned, as he didn't like the rain. He looked at the sky, and there was no sight of the sun, and only swathes of dark clouds welcomed him.
Only the thunder cracking from time to time was the source of light. As Aakesh looked at the jungle ahead of him, he had a feeling as if it was a beast that was welcoming him with its mouth open.
Aakesh wasn't afraid as he took out his sword and swung at the tree in front of him.
Crash!
It was as if the blade had met an item made of butter; the sword cleaved through the tree, cleaving it in two.
A grin spread across Aakesh's face as he saw the result of his action. Aakesh didn't stop and swung three more times, cleaving three more trees.
Now the scene in front of him looked like a beast welcoming Aakesh with its mouth open, but its front teeth were broken.
Aakesh took a step forward and stepped into the jungle. If not for Aakesh cutting the trees, he would have found himself in complete darkness as the trees had dense leaves that wouldn't allow sunlight to pierce through them even in the peak of the day, let alone now when there was nothing but swathes of dark cloud in the sky.
Growl! Growl! Growl!
Similar to his previous experiences, right after stepping into the jungle, a group of wolves appeared and growled.
A glint appeared in Aakesh's eyes as there were seven wolves in the group, and each of them was Level 6.
"350 XP!" Aakesh exclaimed and charged at the nearest wolf.
His blade danced in the air as it cleaved through the wolf's head.
[You have gained 50 XP!]
There was already darkness, and on top of it, Aakesh's blade was also black, so wherever his sword passed, all existence of light would vanish. There was no stopping Aakesh, and in less than ten seconds, the group of wolves was dead.
[You have gained 50 XP!]
[You have gained 50 XP!]
.
.
.
Aakesh's eyes stared at the five corpses still left on the ground, while the remaining two had exploded into light.
"They will get revived!" Aakesh mumbled and then stepped forward to pick up the coins from the ground.
Aakesh looked surprised as he found one hundred copper coins in total, fifty from each wolf. From a single round, Aakesh had earned 350 XP and one bronze coin.
Aakesh stepped ahead and cut some more trees to clear the jungle ahead of him.
With his every step, a loud crashing sound would ring in the area.
"Whoosh!"
Aakesh sword stopped midway as he heard the soft sound of something tearing through the air.
Aakesh suddenly moved his head to his right and brought his sword there.
Puchi!
Howl!
The next moment, a sound of a blade piercing through skin rang in the air, and soon after, the painful cry of the wolf engulfed that sound.
Aakesh had learned his lesson, so he was always prepared for sneak attacks whenever he stepped forward into the dungeon.
The blade didn't directly kill the wolf, as Aakesh couldn't bring much power to his strike. Whatever injury the wolf received was primarily due to the extreme sharpness of the blade.