POV: Zane
After Clone 2 disappeared, I opened the shop again to spend the remaining 200 points. What should I buy? A new skill involving knives and swords, or a magic skill?
After thinking for a bit, it wasn't hard to reach a conclusion.
"It's better to buy a magic skill."
The basic elements I can buy are Fire, Wind, Earth, and Water. I can't buy Light or Darkness magic with just 200 points—they cost 500 points each.
Are they really that much better than basic magic skills?
Well, I'll find out in the future.
I thought a little more and decided to buy the skill with the highest attack power. In this case, that would be Fire magic. In any game or story I've ever read, fire magic is always the strongest when it comes to offense.
Besides, creating explosions and burning monsters should be fun.
[ You have acquired the skill "Fire Magic LV1" ]
Unfortunately, the skill is only level 1, and I need to level it up. I wonder how strong it is at level 1. Is it possible to kill 12th-floor monsters with it at level 1? Well, that's easy to find out.
Since I'm still on the 12th floor, it's the perfect place to test it.
I smiled and looked around.
There weren't any monsters nearby—or at least I couldn't see any through the thick fog. The mist around me grew even denser, severely affecting my vision.
But since my senses have improved significantly, I can still move around.
I began taking slow steps across the 12th floor, waiting for a monster to attack me. The most common monsters on this floor are Imps. They're extremely annoying to deal with because they love setting up ambushes and traps.
I always have to be careful with them.
"There are a lot of trees here."
I reached a strange area. There were many trees, even though none of them had a single leaf. They were basically dead.
There are plenty of places for them to hide here.
I kept walking carefully, watching where I stepped, but contrary to what I expected, I didn't encounter any Imps. The first monster I found—and the one that would serve as my test subject—was a Silverback.
A large ape-like monster with white fur.
It was tall, almost like a gorilla.
I've fought these guys before. They're durable, fast, and skilled in combat. However, the poison produced by my seal can kill them. If I can't kill it with Fire magic, I can use my knife without any problem.
When the Silverback noticed my presence, it pounded its chest like a gorilla and charged at me. I felt fear for a brief moment, but quickly activated the fire skill in my mind.
Fortunately, it worked. I don't need to say the skill's name out loud.
As soon as I activated it, a fireball instantly appeared in my hand—there was no casting time. With a thought, the fireball shot toward the monster at high speed.
Contrary to what I expected, the fireball had quite decent power.
It didn't kill the Silverback in a single hit, but it injured it enough to leave it incapacitated.
The Silverback had used its arms to shield itself, and its arms were blown apart and burned.
Isn't this stronger than it should be? It's only level 1.
Well, everything that comes from my system is stronger than the "normal" things in this world.
I guess that makes sense.
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After the first fireball, I launched two more at the Silverback, and it died. I approached and picked up its magic stone. It's impressive that a monster like this doesn't have a mid-level magic stone.
I sighed and continued hunting until the cooldown ended. When it finally did, I summoned Clone 1 again.
When he appeared, he immediately lowered himself—practically kneeling on the ground.
"I'm sorry, Master. I died without your permission."
What kind of nonsense is that?
"It's fine…" I smiled bitterly. "It was my fault for using the knife until it broke. But how did you die?"
"I was struck directly by a Minotaur. I felt every part of my body break before I died."
I feel pain just hearing that.
"Fortunately, you don't feel pain. You would have suffered a lot."
The clones don't understand what "pain" is. They don't know how painful it is to break an arm—let alone your entire body.
"I apologize again. I promise I won't die anymore."
"Don't make promises you can't keep," I said.
I'm sure my clones will die again in the future. I have no doubt about that.
"…" My clone understood what I meant and said, "I'll try to die as little as possible." He looked at me seriously.
"Alright, alright, you can go now." I waved my hand, and he thanked me once more before disappearing into the fog to continue hunting monsters. I let out a sigh and decided to leave the dungeon for now.
My clones alone are enough to reach level 10.
And I'm tired too.
I continued walking along the 12th floor, humming while killing the few monsters I encountered along the way. But when I was about to reach the path leading to the 11th floor…
I ran into someone I didn't want to see.
Not just him, but a group of adventurers.
Just looking at them makes me uncomfortable.
They're much stronger than me.
Trying to act normal, I swallowed.
"You're Finn, aren't you? The captain of the Loki Familia," I asked.
The short "boy" stepped forward, holding his spear, and smiled at me.
"I finally found you. Honestly, I didn't want to be here, but the Goddess forced me to come find you."
What do you mean by that…?
What do you mean Loki sent you after me?
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Read advanced chapters on my Patreon!
/Zhangye
Next Chapters: Chapter 18 - Loki wants to meet you. New abilities. / Chapter 19 - Encounter with Loki. / Chapter 20 - Why don't you join our Familia? / Chapter 21 - I want to take Freya to my bed. / Chapter 22 - Bell. / Chapter 23 - Twin brothers meet Loki. / Chapter 24 - Bonus for joining a Familia.