The lizard swiftly circled around Flain, trying to jump onto his back. It leaped, but Flain dodged at the last moment.
Then it circled him again, but this time, it spat a toxic liquid from its mouth, hitting Flain directly in the back and leaving a dent in his armor.
[-50 HP]
"What do you think you are, you lizard?! You're not destroying my armor," Flain growled angrily.
Flain and the lizard charged at each other again, their weapons clashing—Flain's swords against the lizard's dagger.
The lizard attempted to slide under Flain's legs once more, but this time, Flain jumped far back. He had only 15 HP left and couldn't afford another hit.
As he checked his HP, he noticed he had 1,510 EXP, while he needed 900 for the next level. He could also use his title, Extremely Powerthirsty. Flain leveled up.
[Level 6 -> Level 7]
[Strength increased by 1, agility increased by 1, vitality increased by 1]
[You have gained 1 bonus point]
An incredible surge of power rushed through Flain's body. He pushed off the ground and instantly closed the distance to the lizard, who was already approaching him.
Once again, Flain's two swords and the lizard's dagger met. But this time, it was different—their strength was no longer equal. Flain forced the lizard down, pressing it toward the ground. The lizard struggled to escape, but the pressure from Flain's swords was too much.
The lizard's back was already touching the ground as Flain pushed it down. Suddenly, Flain placed his foot on the lizard's stomach, pinning it to the floor.
The power flowing through Flain faded, but at just the right moment. Because right then, he drove his sword into the lizard's head.
[+300 EXP]
'This one seemed stronger since I got more EXP from it than the others,' he thought, a manic glint flashing in his eyes.
Flain was sure he could have handled this fight without using Extremely Powerthirsty, but since he had the option, why not take advantage of it?
Some might say he should have waited to level up until he was in danger, using it as a last resort to save his life. But Flain couldn't do that—if he saw a chance to level up, he'd take it immediately or within minutes, even if he didn't need Extremely Powerthirsty. Flain simply loved gaining power.
Flain approached the lizard's corpse and lifted it, staring into its lifeless eyes.
"You thought you could stop me? Wrong," he murmured, his eyes gleaming with mania.
Then he began applying pressure to the lizard's head until it burst, splattering everywhere. He tossed the now-headless body aside.
He walked over to Itai and sat down beside him. He needed to regenerate his HP to full before the next fight—right now, he only had 25 HP.
Flain hadn't forgotten about the bonus point he had gained. He considered where to allocate it and ultimately decided on vitality. He felt like he never had enough HP, but next time, he'd put the bonus point into something else.
[Vitality increased by 1]
Now, all he had to do was wait.
Flain sat there and waited for an hour and a few minutes until his HP was fully restored. These lizards were quite strong. With his current strength, Flain estimated he could handle four more; with luck, maybe even five, but six was definitely beyond his limits.
Flain had 910 EXP, and he needed 1,100 for the next level. So if he went hunting skeletons in the cave and killed two, he'd have enough to level up. And that was worth it.
Flain looked out at the misty underground valley. "By crossing my path, your fate is sealed. You might even manage to kill me, but that won't help you," he whispered with a smirk.
Then he placed Itai back onto his back and set off into the cave to hunt for skeletons.
----
Flain walked and walked. After five minutes, he encountered a skeleton. Without hesitation, he sliced its head off.
[+120 EXP]
"Flain?" A voice came from Flain's back just as he was about to continue searching for more skeletons.
Flain set Itai down on the ground. "Hmh, you're awake," he murmured when he saw his eyes open.
Itai tried to stand up but couldn't. "Looks like you'll still have to carry me on your back. By the way, where are we? I remember falling, and then nothing. Did we fall into this cave? If so, how the hell did we survive? It's all stone down here." Itai bombarded Flain with questions.
Flain then told Itai everything he knew about this place—the lizards, the skeletons that didn't attack him, and the underground valley. He told him everything because he had no reason to lie or keep anything from him.
"Hmm, and why did you go off to kill those skeletons?" Itai asked.
"Well, when I kill someone, I absorb their soul, and that makes me stronger. The stronger the being I kill, the stronger its soul, and the more it strengthens me. Those lizards were quite powerful, so just in case, I'm absorbing a few more souls," Flain lied. Theoretically, it could be true, just in a slightly different way.
"This might be some kind of weird dungeon," Itai said.
"Dungeon? What's that?" Flain asked.
"There weren't dungeons in your time? Well, a dungeon is basically a living entity that can summon monsters inside itself. When someone kills those monsters, it feeds the dungeon. The stronger the monster that dies, the more it feeds the dungeon. From what I've heard, dungeons are pretty primitive, so they can't negotiate or make deals with anyone. The more monsters get killed inside, the bigger the dungeon grows. The deeper you go, the stronger the monsters are. Of course, a smaller dungeon has weaker monsters than a bigger one. I also know there are different types of dungeons, but I don't know anything about them. I know quite a bit about this because a lot of adventurers talked about it at the bar," Itai explained.
Flain processed the information and nodded. "By the way, can't you revive that skeleton?" Flain asked, pointing at the pile of bones that had just moments ago been a skeleton he had killed.
"That crossed my mind too. It should be possible. Maybe you'll have your own skeleton companion," Itai said.