"Amber, back up!"
Amber leaped back as multiple earth spikes rose from the ground and pierced a large suit of armor. Half of the spikes broke against the extremely durable armor, but the rest managed to break through, shredding the metal.
Now immobilized by the earth spikes, Sol quickly chanted his new favorite spell.
"[Incinerate]!"
A violent flame erupted, consuming the moving suit of armor. The metal began to melt under the intense heat until the core that was protected beneath the armor couldn't withstand the damage anymore and broke.
You have slain a Lv 74 Animated Armor! Gained 270,000 Exp (200%)
[Invincible Body] leveled up! (6 -> 7)
'Finally, it leveled up.'
When fighting the Animated Armors, Sol had only been siphoning the skills that were combined into [Invincible Body]. Even after going through an entire floor, it had yet to level up once. Only now was Sol finally able to make some progress.
'Could be for a variety of reasons, but it's likely because each skill now contributes much less to the overall skill.'
Sol opened his status page to look at his progress.
Name: Sol
Race: Human
Talents: [Siphoner], [Transformer]
Level: 69
Exp: 2,630,740/19,600,000
HP: 1400
MP: 1400
Str: 70 (+70)
Vit: 70 (+70)
Agi: 65 (+70)
Int: 70 (+70)
Wis: 70 (+70)
Talent Skills:
[Siphon] Lv 4, [Analysis] Lv 6, [Aggregate] Lv EX, [Reinterpret] Lv EX
Passive Skills:
[Muffled Movements] Lv EX, [Counter] Lv 3, [Shortened Cast] Lv MAX, [Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv MAX, [Mana Perception] Lv 6, [Increased Health Regeneration] Lv 3, [Mana Efficiency] Lv 7, [Precise Coordination] Lv 6, [Basic Psychic Mastery] Lv 3, [Intermediate Weapon Mastery] Lv 6, [Wild Hunt] Lv 1, [Invincible Body] Lv 7, [Perfect Balance] Lv 2, [Death Absorption] Lv 6
Active Skills:
[Cross Slash] Lv 3, [Ground Shrink] Lv 2, [Snap Punch] Lv 8, [Exploding Arrow] Lv 1, [Invisibility] Lv 5, [Death Cyclone] Lv 9, [Terra Spikes] Lv 5, [Rock Throw] Lv 4, [Burrow] Lv MAX, [Fell Cleave] Lv 8, [Crippling Strike] Lv 8, [Destructive Charge] Lv 8, [Telepathy] Lv 1, [Barricade (Variant)] Lv 8, [Unending Volley] Lv 1, [Intermediate Elemental Magic] Lv 5, [Overpower] Lv 3, [Create Undead] Lv 6, [Weapon Enhancement] Lv 7, [Disarm] Lv 7, [Backstab] Lv 6, [Life Drain] Lv 5
Out of all Sol's combined skills, only [Invincible Body] and [Perfect Balance] have been able to level up. Sol was a bit worried at his lifespan apparently increasing by another 50 years, but he decided to leave that impending existential crisis for his future self.
Turning to Amber, Sol could tell she was tired, and he felt slightly guilty over his actions. Fifteen hours ago, Sol suggested they didn't rest, but instead kept going until the 13th floor and rest there. Sol logically argued that the further they got, the more they could level up and improve. It was also possible to do because of their increased stats, allowing them to function for longer periods of time.
Sol got the idea from hearing of the large group that bulldozed through the dungeon. There was no real reason to stay and rest for so long when they could keep going. Other parties weren't able to do this, as their party members specialized in different fields and invested in different stats, so some who hadn't increased their vitality enough wouldn't be able to keep going without resting.
The only problem was Amber didn't have vitality as high as Sol. While a physical fighter, her stats were more invested in agility and strength, with vitality lagging behind on both. If they weren't fighting Amber would have been able to go multiple days without sleep or rest but combat consumes a lot of stamina and tires one out quickly.
Luckily for Amber, they were reaching the end of the floor and she would be able to get some well-deserved rest soon.
…
Upon reaching the entrance of the 13th floor, they noticed how there was a sectioned off area with a rather large camp set up. In the entrance of the camp were three adventurers who were guarding the area. Sol easily guessed it was the camp of the large group.
Sol went to a nice spot not claimed by anyone and set up camp. Sol also built Amber's tent, as he could tell, even with her attempts to hide it, how tired she was. The moment Sol finished setting her tent, she immediately went to sleep without bothering to eat food.
'I may have gone too far. Let's take it one floor at a time from now on.'
Although Sol still had energy to spare, he had to take into consideration the wellbeing of his companion. Sol should have known by now that if he asked Amber if she could do something, she would always agree, even if it would be difficult for her.
Sol made himself a quick meal and entered his tent. He didn't plan on sleeping, but instead was going to try combining new skills. Taking his time to review all the skills through the strings [Aggregate] showed, Sol decided to first combine something easy.
The reddish-hue string of [Exploding Arrow] began to wrap around the grayish white [Unending Volley]. The process was very easy, as he only chose to combine two skills, and soon he saw the results.
Learned [Bombardment] Lv 1!
[Bombardment] Lv 1: Unleash a devastating rain of exploding arrows that destroy everything in its path. Mana cost: 25 per arrow. Fires 5 arrows per second until the user's concentration breaks, reaches exhaustion, or mana depletion.
From the skill description alone, Sol felt like it was a good improvement, but he wasn't too sure if its strength was greater than the individual skills. Sol wanted to try it out but was unable to do so, as from its description, it would be very loud and he didn't want to bother Amber who was sleeping. It was at that moment Sol had an idea and used [Reinterpret].
Entering the white room, Sol didn't summon a clone and instead manifested a copy of the Pollen Bow in his hands and a quiver full of arrows on his back.
Sol took a deep breath to calm his aim. Once he was ready, he used [Bombardment] and launched the first arrow.
Arrow after arrow was released as his hands blurred from his quiver to his bow. Multiple arrows flew with their tips glowing hot red as they reached the end of the white room.
BOOM BOOM BOOM
Loud explosions reverberated in the room as the entire area kept constantly exploding from the exploding arrows. Soon the explosions stopped as he looked to see the damage. The entire side of the white room was scorched and blown apart; Sol knew if he had to take that attack it would severely hurt him.
Sol noticed how the area it was impacting could be even bigger and with a single thought expanded the walls of the room further. Once expanded, Sol released another barrage and assessed the damage.
The skill could easily cover a 30 meter area, but that was if he spread his shots. Sol was also able to focus the destruction onto a single point and completely obliterate a small 1-meter area.
Needless to say, the skill was much stronger than before, leaving Sol completely satisfied.
Sol exited the white room and decided to continue combining other skills to see what he could make.