Ethan had been wondering about the specialty of his profession.
Since his profession was not only an advanced grade profession but also a Unique profession, he was certain it had to possess a speciality or a special effect.
Even high-grade professions had them, so there was no way he did not.
Earlier, when he was learning the [Summon Undead Fire Spirit] skill, he sensed something different compared to when he acquired [Mourning Rain].
It was subtle and mysterious, but Ethan felt as though [Summon Undead Fire Spirit] was located somewhere entirely different from [Mourning Rain], in the same place where [Summon Undead Knight] resided.
It felt as if his profession was giving summoning-type skills a special kind of hospitality.
Focusing on that strange sensation, a new piece of information suddenly entered his mind.
That was how Ethan discovered the specialty of his profession.
It was simple yet extremely powerful.
His profession's speciality lies in grouping summoning-type skills.
By default, it uses skill fusion to merge all summoning skills of the same nature into a single skill.
The skills he learned from Sir Shawn's skill card collection were all summoning skills related to calling forth various spirits.
Since spirits share the same nature, all of those summoning skills were automatically fused into one unified skill: [Summon Undead Spirits].
Ethan can now use this single fused skill to summon any of the spirits he has unlocked, just as he would when using their individual summoning skills.
Furthermore, using the speciality of his profession, he can add new Spirit summons obtained spirit-type summoning skills into this unified skill through skill fusion in the future.
"Not going to lie... I have never seen a specialty like the one your profession possesses. If my guess is right, I think you can learn all kinds of summoning skills as long as you have enough skill slots. And as long as the summoning skills are of a similar nature, they will merge into a single skill, leaving you with bonus skill slots."
Sir Shawn clicked his tongue in wonder.
"Unfortunately, I don't have any skill cards related to spirit summoning..." Sir Shawn chuckled.
"I was planning to give you skill cards gradually as your tier increased and you unlocked more skill slots. I didn't expect you to learn all my spirit summoning skills in one go... I do have other types of summoning skills, but I would advise against using them."
"Do you think I should look for a skill to fill my last skill slot in the dungeons?" Ethan asked.
"Hmm..." Sir Shawn rubbed his chin. "There is a level 12 dungeon called the [Dwelling of the Snake Lord]. If you solo-clear that dungeon on hell difficulty, it will reward you with a profession-specific [Wheel of Skills Card]... Do you think you can do it?"
"I don't know, but I want to try," Ethan said without hesitation.
"Reach level 10 before attempting the dungeon, and don't forget to turn off the experience cultivator after reaching level 10. You still need to obtain three [Skill Enhancement Cards] before reaching Tier 2," Sir Shawn instructed.
Every ten levels constitutes a Tier.
Tier 1: Levels 1–10
Tier 2: Levels 11–20
Tier 3: Levels 21–30
…and so on.
With the advancement into each Tier, an Awakener gains three new skill slots and is permitted to acquire up to three new skills.
Additionally, each Tier grants authorization to use three [Skill Enhancement Cards].
Each Skill Enhancement Card can be applied to one existing Active or passive skill, enhancing its effects.
Since an Awakener may only acquire three skills per Tier, all newly unlocked skill slots need to be filled before reaching the next Tier.
If they are not filled, the empty slots will remain empty unless the Awakener obtains skills through special methods that bypass the three-skills-per-Tier limitation.
...
Ethan made his way to the dungeon hall.
The university had many dungeon halls, each organized by dungeon tier.
He entered a Tier 1 dungeon, accessible to Awakeners between levels 1 and 10.
It was his first time out of the study hall or his student residential area, and since he had only been at the university for two days, he hadn't yet had the chance to mingle with other students—a prospect he had been looking forward to.
The dungeon hall was simple: a small, dome-like building with several floors.
Each floor had dozens of green gates lined up along the walls, each leading to a different dungeon with unique monsters and various rewards.
As he walked into the dungeon hall, the place was quite crowded.
He could see people walking in and out of the dungeons, while some were sitting on the floor, recovering their spiritual energy—clearly replenishing their stamina and energy before reentering the dungeons.
Ethan went and stood before one of the glass squares hanging on the walls of the ground floor.
The gates were located from the first floor up to the top floor; the ground floor was meant for students to interact with each other, such as recruiting raid teams and engaging in similar activities.
Looking at the glass square, a system prompt appeared in his field of vision.
---
[Dungeon Hall: Tier 1]
[Number Of Dungeons: 169]
-1: Slime Pit (Level: 3 - 6)
-2: Rat's Nest (Level: 2 - 6)
-3: Muddy Pit (Level: 4 - 7)
.
.
-57: Old Stone Cellar (Level: 5 - 9)
.
.
-156: Skeleton Chamber (Level: 7 - 11)
.
.
-168: Goblin Hideout (Level: 9 - 13)
-169: Dwelling of the Snake Lord (Level: 10 - 15)
---
"Of course, I have to clear the strongest dungeon in this place to acquire the profession-specific skill, too, in hell difficulty..." Ethan sighed.
Ethan then scrolled through and looked at the description of other dungeons, and every single one of them was unique, and each of the dungeons had unique requirements for awakening to raid it.
He also checked the information about the [Dwelling of the Snake Lord] dungeon, which is the hardest dungeon in the dungeon hall, and clearing it can reward you with high-level equipment, and clearing solo in hell will reward you with the highest quality equipment and a specific [Wheel of Skills card].
As for its requirement to clear it, there were none you could enter as a raid team or solo, and there were no class restrictions either, but if one wishes to acquire the highest of rewards, then they have to clear it solo in hell difficulty.
While Ethan was thinking about his plans, a group of people approached.
"You are looking to join a raid team?" one of them asked.
Ethan turned around and found nine other students standing, each wielding weapons and equipment. Most of them were level 7 and level 8
"What?" Ethan asked as he didn't quite hear them.
"We are about to raid the [Skeleton Chamber] dungeon. We need a ten-member raid team to enter it. We are missing one. Would you like to join us?" the man who seemed like the leader of this asked.
"How much are you willing to pay?"
"We want all the equipment dropped in the dungeon, but we will split the gold coins with you equally," he replied.
"I accept... let's sign it with a contract," Ethan said, activating the contract function.
Ethan wasn't about to trust a random person, plus using contracts would secure his position.
"I accept." The man didn't hesitate and signed the contract.
[Contract Established]
"Let's go then," the man went straight to the business as they reached the third floor, where the [Skeleton Chamber] dungeon's gate was located.
---
[Choose the difficulty...]
Normal Difficulty
-Solo Entry: 10 System Gold
-Team Entry: 50 System Gold
Hard Difficulty
-Solo Entry: 15 System Gold
-Team Entry: 100 System Gold
Nightmare Difficulty
-Solo Entry: 30 System Gold
-Team Entry: 200 System Gold
Hell Difficulty
-Solo Entry: 50 System Gold
-Team Entry: 350 System Gold
---
Yes, one has to pay System Gold to enter a dungeon, and Ethan only has 50 SG, which he received as beginner's funds from the university, something given to every student.
Earning System Gold is one of the hardest aspects of progression, alongside leveling up and acquiring skills.
System Gold is the primary currency used for everything, from buying equipment to unlocking access to certain dungeons.
While not every dungeon requires SG to enter, this one does.
Ethan's task to obtain a profession-specific skill is also tied to the Dwelling of the Snake Lord dungeon.
Since it is the strongest dungeon in the hall, it understandably requires System Gold to attempt, and the entry fee should be considerably high.
The raid leader selected the difficulty and paid the necessary cost.
He did not ask Ethan to contribute, especially since they were the ones who invited him.
[You have chosen the Nightmare Difficulty]
"Nightmare difficulty, huh?" Ethan muttered as he stepped through the gate, following the others.
...
[A/N: If you enjoyed the chapter, please consider adding it to your library and supporting it with some Power Stones. Arigato!]