It had now been nearly a week since Lumen had entered the Challenge Dungeon. Jake, Will and Qu Quan had long left the area thinking that he was dead, if Lumen knew this fact he wouldn't blame them for it as he would have done the same.
Over the last week in the dungeon, Lumen had killed another 11 Rabid wolves, with the highest level wolf being at level 10.
Coincidentally this level 10 rabid wolf was his most recent hunt, but by far his most difficult if you didn't include the level 13 deer.
He was at level 9 when he fought the wolf, when he first encountered it he thought it wouldn't be much harder than killing the level 9 wolves he had been used to by now.
But when his first attack landed on the wolf, it was only then he understood why his group was almost wiped out by their naïve attack on the deer.
It seems that once a beast reaches level 10, they go through a change that gives them an overall increase in strength compared to beasts below that level.
He didn't have any proof of this theory yet, but he also assumed that Humans would also experience the same change upon reaching level 10.
Thankfully for Lumen, he had experience fighting with these rabid wolves by that point and his own level being only 1 more kill from level 10, he had managed to take the wolf down in an intense battle that drained him of both his stamina and mana.
But when looking at the rewards and finally seeing the level up he had been anticipating for the last day and a half, he sighed with relief.
And, upon reading his system messages his theory had been confirmed.
[Ding! Killed level 10 F tier Rabid Wolf.]
[Gained 10,000 experience]
[Gained 2000 credits]
[Ding! You have levelled up!
Received +5 intelligence, +5 wisdom, +5 agility, +5 stamina, +5 strength, +5 endurance, +4 perception, +3 Wisdom, +6 unallocated stats.]
[Spear Magister skills available]
He didn't know if this was the same option the beasts got upon reaching level 10, but he was immensely happy when he saw that he could finally gain another skill for his class.
He had five skills available in total. Looking at the skills, he looked at each one carefully in order to make the best choice for him.
[1. Inferior Blink (Uncommon) - Blink is an ancient spatial spell used by spatial mages since the beginning of time. Allows for the mage to teleport to any space around them within a range of 5 metres. Blink does not require the use of any external magic tools or equipment, but the skill's level can be upgraded through constant use, increasing it's range. Mana cost: 500 MP.]
This skill was very appealing to Lumen who had only heard of high level cultivators being able to teleport back in his previous universe. However the range was too small for him to pick it at the moment and it wasn't really useful to him in the dungeon.
He swiftly moved onto the next.
[2. Empire's Spear technique (Uncommon) - A widespread spear technique Denoting from the Sangruil Empire in the Fantasia realm. A technique passed down from generation to generation ever since the empire's founding, they pride themselves in it's efficiency in battle. Effects include an additional 10% damage boost on top of the user's own spear mastery skill.]
This one did seem like it was very useful for Lumen at the moment, especially in helping him hunt even quicker in the dungeon. If he didn't find a better skill among the other 3, he would pick this one.
[3. Basic Tracking (Common) - Every hunter's first objective is to find their prey. Grants the user basic proficiency in spotting patterns and tracks of prey that has been marked or you are familiar with more easily. Requires identifiable tracks to be used. Efficiency of the skill boosted by perception.]
If Lumen were still in the main tutorial area, he would choose this skill in a heartbeat as the main factor slowing down his hunting was the lack of beasts he could find. Unfortunately, or fortunately, for him he was in the dungeon where the space was limited and the Rabid wolves are easy to find.
[4. Basic Unarmed (Common) - A skill every physical combatant should learn. Grants the warrior a boost in damage when in combat without an equipped weapon. This skill could be the difference between life or death if one finds themself in the unfortunate situation of losing their weapon. Effects include a 15% boost in damage done with user's own body, provides a miniscule boost to the strength stat.]
This skill was also a no go for Lumen as although it would seem like quite the useful and maybe even life saving skill for warriors as the description states, it wouldn't be as useful for him who also had magic skills he could rely on should he somehow lose his spear.
It's unfortunate that he hadn't encountered any other spear warriors in the tutorial yet or he could have some extra spears to keep in his inventory should such a situation arise.
He skipped this skill as he didn't even consider it, leaving the final skill out of the five for him to inspect.
[5. Fire bolt (Uncommon) {This skill is an upgrade to the user's own [Mana Bolt] skill, if chosen, the original skill will disappear and be replaced with this.} - A more advanced magic bolt involving the element of fire. Launches a great ball of fire upon use and explodes upon impact, inflicting flame damage as well as AOE damage to any surrounding enemies. Mana cost: 300 MP.]
Lumen was torn between picking the Spear technique or this Fire bolt. On the one hand, his overall damage with his spear would increase by 10%, quite a considerable boost that would make a large difference in battle.
On the other hand, he could get a definitive upgrade to his Mana bolt, which even unupgraded had saved his life many times and was one of his most powerful techniques.
After a few minutes of weighing the pros and cons, Lumen eventually decided to choose the Fire bolt spell. His main reason being that he suspected he could kill any beast under level 15 with ease even without the boost to his spearmanship now that he had reached level 10.
However he still had no clue how powerful the boss of the dungeon would be and so he wanted a powerful skill that dealt a considerable amount of damage.