Connor didn't immediately rush to the dungeon entrance. He asked the system about everything regarding the dungeon, its inhabitants, and their weaknesses.
He made quick trips across various places in the city with a bicycle to equip himself with weapons and flammables.
Finally, he arrived at the entrance of the dungeon where a huge door was attached to a cliff, it was made of a strange ore that looked azure blue.
the three pixies who followed him had manifested again.
"You three wait for me here. I will come back once I have cleared the first floor. After that, I will form a contract with you as my mana will be unlocked," he said to the three.
"This is ridiculous. Not only do you not have mana, but you also want to blindly charge into this fourth-order dungeon.
You don't value your life, do you?" said Kris, still in shock at his audacity to challenge the impossible.
While she had heard of many legends achieving absurd things that were hard to believe, this was still too much for her.
"You really don't want us to be there. Our knowledge can help you," said Aurora, looking slightly worried.
"Nah... I can't pay you for the intel," he joked to lighten the mood.
Then he looked at Livia and said in a serious tone, "Wait for me."
And he walked away after Livia simply nodded to him.
"Livia, you have to stop him, or at least accompany him. He's going to die at this rate," said Kris.
"I don't care if he dies. He will either succumb to death because of his own carelessness or..."
"Or?" Kris inquired.
"He will write a new legend," she said with a smirk. She never forced him to take this test.
It was his idea, and he went forward on his own. She would only do what he asked her to do: wait.
As Connor opened the door and entered the dungeon, he felt a strange sensation all over his body. It was similar to diving into a swimming pool.
Right after entering, a screen appeared in front of him:
[
Welcome to the Undead Dungeon, version 31.332.08
Dungeon Rank: Fourth Order (Formation Phase)
Dungeon Boss: Level 10 Lich (Grows by 10 levels per hour)
Dungeon Treasures: 2 Artifacts, 1 Weapon, 1 Equipment (more in development)
Floors: 5 (more in development)
Warning! The challenger is extremely weak to challenge this dungeon. It is advised to retreat.
]
'I see, so there can be many variations of the same dungeon,' he thought for a while, then asked the system. 'How is the dungeon developing? Where does it get the source to build all this?'
[ The dungeon uses all the SP of the people who died or are dying in the integration phase. With a population of nearly 8 billion, it is possible to create thousands of dungeons ranging from 1st-order to 4th-order and a few 5th-order dungeons that will take years to form. Probably after the third phase, when the Earth is open to others, foreign races would try to loot your planet's 5th-order dungeons all for themselves. ]
'Truly a free-for-all battleground, huh... Is there no way to stop them? What if many transcendents decide to plunder a world like that Skirk guy?'
Given Connor's awareness of Uriel's neutrality and fairness toward all living beings, he found it perplexing that the powerful could suppress the weak and hinder their development, especially under Uriel's watchful gaze.
[ Normally, a transcendent being cannot harm a lower or ascended lifeform. Only if they offend them or attack their party/organization.
They will revert back to their ascension rank and will forever stay crippled in that state. It is the punishment of Uriel for rule breakers.
You will automatically learn the rules when you ascend to transcendent rank. If you don't want them to take advantage of you, then you simply need not get in their way. They will not be allowed to enter dungeons above 4th order for a year since their arrival on that world.
You, as inhabitants, are given the first chance to claim the resources made from your world.
But if you do not take the opportunity handed to you. That is on you, beggars can't be choosers after all.
]
'There are still loopholes in the contract they can use to beat us, right?'
[ It cannot be completely denied, but to counter such cases, Uriel has a Court of Justice called Eden, where the defendant and offender would be summoned. Eden is used for many legal cases that require Uriel's intervention.
An incarnation called 'Judge Mikael', who is referred to as the embodiment of justice will pass the final judgment after hearing all voices and verifying the evidence.
To invoke an Eden case, you will have to pay 1k SP for base ranks, 50k SP for ascendant ranks, 1 million SP for transcendent ranks, and higher for the rest of the ranks, which I cannot unveil due to the lack of authority level. ]
'Ooh, I see. I guess it is too pricey as the rank rises. Reasonable, more restrictions the stronger you get, I guess.'
Connor walked through the narrow hall on high alert, holding a butcher knife. It was the only light weapon he could find in all the mess. He held it in a reverse grip, ready to stab anyone he saw.
He soon reached a wide-open chamber that could be called a hall, surrounded by large statues. He was reminded of a certain webtoon he read.
'They won't suddenly shoot beams and kill me, right?' he gulped as he asked himself.
'Schhheeeee!' He heard a large scream and turned his head towards the left pathway to meet the enemy.
He saw a large winged creature resembling a bat rushing towards him with bloodshot eyes.
He dropped his knife and took out the gun from the holster attached to his pants. He had a limited supply of bullets he took from the police station and didn't want to waste them on anyone other than the Lich.
But right now, he instinctively knew that between the knife and the large bat, it would be the bat and his body that would break.
"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" He fired three quick shots aimed at its head.
Only one shot hit its head, but that was enough for the bat to stop its charge and drop to the ground.
It writhed in pain and flapped its wings to take off again.
Connor ran towards the bat, took out a bottle tied with a cloth, burned it with a lighter, and threw it at its body. The bat burned in flames, struggling and rolling on the ground.
Connor covered his ears as they bled from its screams.
He was sure his eardrums had burst just now.
After a while, it stopped moving and screaming. Connor could breathe a sigh of relief as the screams finally stopped.
A series of messages appeared soon after:
[ You have slain a Lv.3 Giant Bat ]
[ You have gained 6 SP ]
[ You have gained +1 strength, +1 agility from the excess SP gained ]
[ You have leveled up ]
[ You have gained 1 AP ]
[ The Giant Bat's core has two absorbable skills: Sound Sense (unranked passive), Night Blend (1st order active skill). Which one do you wish to absorb? ]
Connor grinned. It happened exactly as the system said. This is why he went for the overkill, wasting his precious Molotov, as he needed a good offensive skill. But he wasn't sure if Night Blend could be used offensively, as it sounded more like a hiding or movement type.
Nonetheless, he chose to absorb it. He felt a headache as unknown knowledge entered his head, like he was recalling something he had forgotten.
[ Rune of the skill 'Night Blend' has been engraved in your core and can be erased at will ]
[ You have acquired Night Blend (1st order) ]
[
Skill Name: Night Blend
Rank: 1st Order
Activation Function: Your body can blend into the darkness. In this form, you cannot be harmed, as every object or projectile will pass through the darkness like air. Requires 10 mana per second to stay activated.
Activation Cost: 50 Mana
]
'Wow, this is a really good skill that can save my life. Actually, this is very nice for defense.'
'But how do I activate it without mana?' Connor got the answer from the system, even though he was just asking himself.
[ I can convert the 3 SP you gained from killing it to 300 Mana and 1 AP to 1 MP.
It is a feature available for weak souls like you.
You just have to speak the word and it would be done. but onve your soul is healed this feature will also be taken away.
you won't drop your level as 3 SP was enough to raise your level and 3 SP is currently inside your core which will be used. ]
'What is the difference between mana and MP? I understand what mana is to a certain degree after your previous explanation. Just tell me what MP is and also tell me about this AP.'
[
MP is Magic Potency. The more MP you have, the more mana can flow in your body, the more mana veins you will have, and without MP, you can't utilize mana.
If mana is water, then MP is the pipeline or the structure that directs mana into you. An average man after awakening would have at least 10 MP.
MP also determines the amount of mana you can store, It is usually 1:4 but can vary depending on other factors.
Also, the magic potency tells you how much excess mana can your body take. A person can take up to a thousand times the MP of their body. any more can lead to Mana Rupture, which is the exploding of the vessel/incarnation similar to a battery exploding.
MP also determines the rate at which mana recovers after usage. Later on, a person can improve it with AP, which are attribute points.
]
'Alright, do it. Get me 300 mana points and 1 MP.'
As soon as Connor said that, he felt like needles were poking his body as he felt the change.
He also got an influx of information on how to utilize mana in his head.
Combined with the information sequence he got from the skill, he knew he could now instantly activate the skill.
He called 'Record' in his mind to view his profile
[
Name: Connor Lennox
Race: Human
Class: None
Subclass: None
Rank: Unranked
Level: 0 ( 0/10)
AP: 0
Attributes:
->Strength: 13
->Endurance: 9
->Stamina: 10/11
->Agility:15
->MP: 1
->Mana: 300/5
Weapons(0) Equipment(0) Skills(1) Weapon Arts(0)
]
Connor grinned from ear to ear as he wanted to test it, but he realized how stupid it would be to waste mana that he can't even regenerate faster with only 1 MP remaining
He found a few similar bats in his way. Luckily, this time he had the perfect way to kill them efficiently. As the giant bat approached him closely, he activated the Night Blend skill:
The charging bat passed through his dark figure like he was black gas, perfectly blending into darkness. Right after that, he swiftly shot the bat three times in the head from behind.
[ You have slain a Lv.4 Giant Bat ]
[ You have gained 7 SP ]
[ You have gained +1 stamina, +1 agility from the excess SP gained ]
he also got the skill 'Sound sense' which he couldn't copy from the first bat. It wasn't anything special but a passive skill that allowed him to detect sounds ranging from 1 Hz up to 120 kHz.
He used it to detect the moments of the bat, but every time they also sense him and rush to him.
when he asked the system about it, It said the skills he is absorbing now are engraved in his skills socket in his core which are not permanent, and at a time he can only have 2 such skills,
If he wants permanent skills then he needs to get them from Uriel upon each class advancement
one by one he lured them and killed them all by letting them attack first and then ending it with three shots for each bats, he killed 6 bats with 18 bullets and had 14 more remaining
he also got another skill from the last bat ' Dual eyes (1st order) ' that was active and passive he replaced this skill with 'Sound sense'
[
Skill name: Dual eyes
Rank: 1st order
Activation function: your eyes are now mutated to have two additional kinds of vision X-ray and infrared vision, you can switch the visions upon activation and doesn't require anything to maintain the said vision as it has been mutated into you
Activation cost: 10 Mana
]
Again he was made to realize how valuable knowledge is, he could do a lot of things with this kind of skill, some naughty things as well.
but he immediately shut the idea.
he had indefinite hate towards all women, that included the women in his family as well.
to distract himself he thought about the weapon he could obtain.
'Please luck, give me a good weapon, a spear perhaps, I can fight enemies while maintaining a good distance, or even a bow with arrows will be good'
he was still hesitant in engaging close combat while he did have karate experience it can't be used against dangerous monsters like that giant bat.
he arrived at the location and saw a blue tear that covered a hole in the air, it was pitch-black inside the crack of space, he asked the system what it was,
[ It is a pocket dimension holding the weapon, you have to insert your hand to fetch it ]
he did as he said and his hand felt like grabbing a rod with a hilt on top, he immediately understood it was a sword and pulled it.
the tear closed on it's own as he got a message
[ you have acquired a Rare Dull blade, Tying the weapon to your core ]
[ you have gained strength +3 stamina +5]
' So this is a Weapon recognized by Uriel, the system did say these objects have a trace of SP ingrained in them that makes them special, that also explain the buff I felt '
Connor felt his muscles and tissues tightening as if the fats and ligaments were churning instantly. he felt like his fitness increasing and felt it easy to move his arms faster.
he felt like his body was released of weights or burdens attached to him.
he called 'record' in his mind to view his profile,
[
Name: Connor Lennox
Race: Human
Class: None
Subclass: None
Rank: Unranked
Level: 2 (1/30)
AP: 0
Attributes:
->Strength: 20(+3)
->Endurance: 11
->Stamina: 12/17(+5)
->Agility:18
->M.P: 3
->Mana: 150/15
Weapons(1) Equipment(0) Skills(2) Weapon Arts(0)
]
He spoke 'Weapon Records' and another panel appeared
[ Weapon Name: Dull Blade
Weapon Grade: Rare
Type: Sword
Description: A sword used by trainers to practice their swordsmanship and sword arts. Due to its blunt edges, it lacks the sharpness of a normal sword but compensates with heavy weight to practice swings and parrying attacks. Great for passionate swordsmen focusing on techniques rather than destruction.
Weapon Skill: Mana Infusion (2nd Order active)
Mana Infusion:
Active: The blade will be coated with mana drawn directly from the user to enhance the overall performance of the sword, allowing it to deflect and counterattack mana-imbued attacks. The blade will behave according to the user's will. ]
[ Beginner information: Weapon and equipment skills are not upgradeable as their are not attached directly to the user's core ]
"Oh, so my skills are upgradable to the next order, but it seems like for weapon-type skills it is not. That makes sense since these weapons have SP and astral consciousness"
" Does it mean they are alive? Is that why it has skills?" even though connor had spoken out loud the system still responded to his question
[ The weapon does not possess any consciousness, but only a will derived from the consciousness of the soul it took the essence from ]
"I see," Connor studied the blade. It had no activation cost, as described; it would draw mana directly from the user and require precise control.
He understood why it was called a training blade. Not only could he practice swings, but he could also hone his mana control to improve his precision.
Ever since he began using his skills and mana, he realized they were difficult to maintain and drained his mana quickly.
He needed precise control over his mana flow to avoid running out and to deploy his skills efficiently.
Connor wanted to see the upgrade requirements for his skills, but he knew he was too weak to focus on them right now since he hadn't even mastered the current versions.