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Welcome to the Asterion Dungeon, version 109.63.77
Dungeon Rank: 1st Order
Dungeon Boss: Level 50 Ashen Minotaur
Dungeon Treasures: 32 Artifacts, 18 Weapon, 41 Equipment, 6 Weapon Arts
Floors: 10
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The Group of young combatants crossed the dungeon gate as they stepped on the first floor. according to Julian, The first floor was filled with Herbivore types of beasts, Metal skinned antelopes called "Titanhide Stag" and Bone-filled goats with large horns called "Gravehoof".
These people were not that harmful as compared to the other monsters but they were tougher to kill. But that's what connor had wanted, with these tough-to-kill beasts he could train the others in battle and also get livestock to eat. It was like hitting two birds with one stone.
He believed he could leave this floor to Julian and Silvia. his real goal was to reach the Minotaur in the 10th floor and kill it with Elena's help.
At the first sign of enemies, Connor signaled Julian to take the lead and with a nod Julian brought his team to the vanguard. they were all nervous to face the herd of monsters, They knew that they were stronger than him as they had leveled up a bit from the battle with the fallen army, But this place brought a lot of bad memories to them as this is where they hit their first kill.
Connor realized that mentally all of these people were weak, Julian had to rush ahead himself to motivate them. Connor understood why Julia was able to manipulate all the people in the hospital and bring them to his lead.
Julian was actually not that strong, he had seen a few people who were atleast as equally or perhaps more stronger than him.
It was just that Julian Derek was better at mind games and showed a high will power and charisma to lead them.
' I should address this later, now is not the time for mental therapy sessions'
Connor shook his head and decided to advance further leaving this problem for the future. He resolved in his mind that he would grow strong not just physically and spirtually but also in mentality.
The group separated into two with Connor's Team Advancing to the next floor while Silvia's team including Furina and Julian's Team would stay here.
Connor's team consisted of Alya, Elena, and the three boys from the last expedition. They arrived at the boss room of the first floor, where a green-skinned large Cyclops awaited them.
It growled at them lifting a large club with one hand preparing to crush them. But as It approached them, Elena countered it with thunderous streaks of arrow to burn it's body and immobilize it for a few seconds.
That was enough for Connor to jump into action as he slashed his mana-charged sword at the Cyclop's right leg to severe it in one go which caused it to stumble on one knee. Alya assisted further by shooting an arrow straight at its single eye. That made the cyclope to go into a frenzy madly swinging it's
All this happened in that few seconds the Cyclops was immobilized. Truth be told, The monster was not weak at all, It was a Level 25 on the verge of breaking through the next rank.
But, sadly for the floor boss, It met its end at the hands of Elena after it got tired from swinging it's club aimlessly in a state of panic.
" This was so easy for a boss fight" Elena commented as she sheathed her blade.
" You expect a first-floor boss from a 1st order dungeon to be a challenge? You could have struggled with it if you were fighting alone but with our combined strength and combat strategy, It could only last so far"
"But why did you let Elena finish off the boss? Don't you want the SP to level up as well?" Alya asked, clearly puzzled by his decision. After all, Connor had specifically told Elena to strike the killing blow when the boss showed signs of exhaustion.
"I could've killed it," Connor replied, "but that's not the goal of this raid. My priority is for all of you to grow stronger and close the gap between us. If the monster lurking around the hospital has a herd, you would all end up dead while I fight their leader."
He continued, speaking with complete confidence, "I could take on the first few floors up to floor 9 without any difficulty. But it is better if Elena slays the bosses and levels up instead of me gaining just a small amount of SP."
Connor chose not to mention that he had already reached the maximum level for his current rank. From this point on, he would only receive a fraction of the SP, and the rest would dissipate into the environment. In order to continue leveling, he needed to evolve to the next rank.
"But that floor boss gave me 1800 SP and I leveled up in just one go. Wouldn't it be more beneficial for you to level up?" Elena asked with uncertainty, she had assumed that Connor must be at least around level 20.
"I'm already high enough," Connor said, smirking. "Even if you reach level 25, you won't be able to beat me."
Elena clicked her tongue in frustration, her competitive nature refusing to accept his words. She silently vowed to reach level 20 and upgrade her Thunder Arrow skill to the second order.
This was exactly how things were playing out on the second floor. Connor subdued the enemies, while Elena finished them off with her sword. Occasionally, Alya and the others managed to kill a few as well, but with Elena's superior speed and swordsmanship, she was proving to be the most efficient at eliminating their enemies.
Elena was pleased with her progress, not only because she was leveling up but also because she was getting closer to fulfilling the upgrade conditions for her skill.
In order to upgrade, she needed to kill ten enemies within thirty seconds using her skill, and she had to do this thirty times. So far, she had succeeded eleven times.
The enemies on this floor were mostly around levels 12 to 15, with a focus on agility. It was easier for Elena to dispatch them with her Thunder Arrows while Connor restrained them with his Darkness Field.
Connor had shown remarkable control over his skill. Through constant practice, he had learned to manipulate the darkness particles, using them only to restrain the space he targeted.
After a couple of hours, the second floor had been cleared completely, and the party had collected four treasures in total. They were now approaching the boss room, but before entering, Connor stopped the group to discuss the strategy.
"Based on the monsters we encountered on the first floor, where the boss was a defense-focused cyclops, this floor's boss is likely to focus on speed. To counter that, I will restrain it with my skill, and Elena will take it head-on," Connor explained.
After discussing their roles and refining their strategy, the team decided to rest before tackling the boss's floor.
While they were resting, Alya turned to Connor for advice on how to grow stronger. "How did you level up so fast?"
The rest of the group, including Elena, listened closely, eager to hear from the strongest member of their team.
"There are many factors that contributed to my growth, but it all comes down to me taking big risks and leaps, If you can't overcome your fears you won't be able to grow stronger at one point, But the sooner you overcome them, the faster you will grow strong," Connor said, his tone serious.
"However, I wouldn't recommend such an approach for any of you, You need to move forward one step at a time or you might end up broken. You are not me after all," he added with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. He did not want them to become reckless and lose their lives by pushing themselves too hard.
Connor's goal was to build a group of elites who could protect survivors when migration began. He was not in a rush despite the looming threat around the hospital.
In the end, he was confident that once his group had acquired enough skills, they could handle any danger within this city. He was willing to take it slow for now.
Connor had already reached level 25 and was on the verge of ranking up. He knew that any SP he gained at this point would be wasted.
When an evolver reached the maximum level for their rank, their astral core rejected the soul essence from the kill, causing the essence to be released into the astral realm as astral seeds.
These Astral seeds would be consumed by whoever found them in the astral realm, It would be like a treasure to the pixies and other races of that realm to level up.
After resting for a while, the group marched to the boss room on the second floor. As they entered the large space, they noticed the room was expansive, with high ceilings and wide-open floors. The stone walls were rough and weathered, filled with cracks bearing the marks of time, giving the room a cold and foreboding atmosphere. It was clear that this place had seen countless battles, and now it was their turn to face what lay ahead.
In the center of the room stood a large chimera-like beast, towering over them with massive horns curling from its head, leathery wings stretched wide, and sharp claws that scraped the stone floor. Its lower half was that of a serpent, its long, scaled body coiled beneath it, radiating a terrifying mix of power and speed.
The creature's eyes locked onto them, and bent its body completely leaning on the ground, then it disappeared only to appear in the air with its body flipping to smash it's tail.
But right then Elena activated her Esper, her entire body radiating with lightning as she struck the serpent with enormous force, It took her everything to match the opposing force of the chimera's attack, But she was left with no choice, had she chosen to dodge the others would have been caught up with the impact and possibly die from it.
The shockwave of their collision alone sent the rest of them hurtling away as Elena too was pushed back and thrown into the walls as a crater formed behind her.
'That explains all the cracks on the walls' Elena reasoned her thoughts as she spit blood when she looked back at the beast, she saw it exchanging fierce blows with connor who was surprisingly matching its speed.
But after observing for a while she found that while he was still slower than the beast, He was still managing to dodge its attacks, and land a few blows.
It only dawned on her after a few minutes that while the beast is incredibly fast it's movement and attack pattern were too simple and repetitive.
Elena and the rest were engrossed in the fierce exchange between the two, Not once did the beast manage to land a hit on Connor, It tried to scratch or thrust his insides with its claws but he dodged and countered with his sword, It used brute force with its large tail sweeping the floor in a circular motion but connor just jumped on his floating sword.
With a focused expression, Connor finally spoke. "Do you see, Elena? The beast might be faster, but at the end of the day, it's still a beast with limited intelligence. This is like a video game boss fight. Its moves are easy and predictable. Only you and I, with our stats, can see this clearly."
Connor was right. For the others, the battle was a blur, too fast for them to fully comprehend. His words, spoken rapidly, barely registered with them. Their minds simply couldn't keep up.
But Elena, in her Lightning Valkyrie form, was different. Encouraged by Connor's words and observing his technique, she leaped back into the fight as Connor strategically withdrew, letting her take the lead against the beast.