Dungeon, Sixth Floor…
Swish.
With a shimmer of distorted air, Leon and Rees reappeared on the cold, stone floor of the dungeon’s sixth level.
“Phew…” Rees stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders. “It feels good to use magic again.”
“You are dead and you still stretch your body like you are alive. That’s kind of odd.” Leon spoke with a smile as he looked at Rees.
“It’s just my mind… It wants to feel alive.” Rees replied.
Leon glanced at him, one brow raised. “What kind of teleportation spell was that you just used ?”
“The Fraulent Jump,” Rees said, straightening his robe. “It’s a spatial manipulation spell exclusive to magis.
Though even among magis, very few can master it. It’s ancient—requires a five-minute-long enchantment chant, and if you mispronounce even a single word, it fails.
But, once you master it… you can leap between places you have gone to before.” He explained.
Leon blinked. “You could’ve just said ’a teleportation spell only magis can use. That can get you from a place to the place that you have gone before.’
Why are you explaining all that to me ? It’s not like I can learn it.”
Rees chuckled. “Old habits. Back in the Elf Kingdom, I had an assistant, Jerry. I used to lecture him on magic the same way.
You just reminded of him Mr. Leon.”
Leon rolled his eyes and turned. “Anyway, I’m heading to the forest to level up. You coming with me or staying here ?”
“Level up ?” Rees tilted his skull, puzzled.
“Ah… What I meant was… I am going to the forest in order to kill monsters.” Leon spoke with a neutral expression as he corrected himself.
“But you said Level up… What does that mean ?” Rees asked.
“It means killing monsters and increasing your level of fighting.” Leon replied immediately.
“Ah… I understand it now. So we are going to slay monsters so you can train, right ?” Rees asked.
Leon nodded, deadpan. He then started walking towards Rees. “Exactly that. So you coming or not ?”
“Oh! Yes, yes—I’ll come along. Who knows, maybe I’ll get lucky and find a Frembian Turtle in the forest.” Rees spoke.
Leon stopped. “A Frembian Turtle ? Why ?”
“I need its shell. In order to craft an indestructible magical coat.” Rees spoke as he looked at Leon.
Leon gave him a long look. “You spend all your time down here. What’s the point of armor ?”
“It’s not for me, Mr. Leon.” Rees said casually. “It’s for you.”
Leon narrowed his eyes. “Me?”
“You’re the Dungeon Master, Mr. Leon. I can’t very well live free in your dungeon forever. Consider it a gift from my side.” Rees explained as he looked at Leon.
’Well… Why would I say no to an indestructible magical coat ?’
Leon shook his head with a faint smirk. “Fine. Let’s go.”
He stepped forward, touched Rees’s shoulder, and both of them vanished immediately.
—
Dungeon, First Floor…
*Swish,
The pair materialized directly behind Kai, who was hunched over a half-assembled wooden bed.
He was craving designs on the upper side of the bed very carefully.
“Rees,” Leon called from behind in a low voice.
“Fucking hell—!” Kai nearly leapt into the air, clutching his chest.
“Obviously. It’s you again. Why are you doing that to me again and again ? You can shout from behind that ’you are here’ and then walk up close to me.” Kai spoke with a serious expression.
“Did you make the beads, I told you to ?” Leon asked, his voice calm.
Kai exhaled and reached into his pocket.
“Yeah. They’re ready. Here.” he spoke tossing a pouch towards Leon.
Catch.
Leon snatched the small pouch out of the air and opened it. Two polished wooden beads rolled into his palm with a soft sound,
*Tick-Tick*
Rees peered over with a confused expression, “Beads? What are we going to do with those, Mr. Leon?”
Leon’s lips curled faintly. “Kill monsters.” He spoke then turned back to Kai.
“Good work, Kai. You can get back to your bed but I will be needing more of these soon.”
“I will-”
Before Kai could reply, Leon touched Rees again, and they vanished.
—
Dungeon – Outer Edge…
Swish.
Leon and Rees re-appeared outside the dungeon.
Strong winds howled across the trees. The sky was darkening fast.
*SWISHHHHHHHH*
“A storm’s coming,” Rees observed, turning his bony skull toward the sky. “You sure you want to head into the forest in this weather, Mr. Leon ?”
“I don’t feel cold that much, let’s go.” Leon said with a grin, pulling his cloak tighter and striding forward.
Rees fumbled in his robes. “Wait Mr. Leon—let me get my weapon out. Just in case.”
Leon paused, glancing back. “Weapon? You have a weapon? I thought you only used magic as your weapon.”
“I do. But before I became a Lich, my mother taught me how to wield this one. After my transformation, I made a visit to the Dwarf Kingdom and traded some rare demon alcohol to a blacksmith.
He got so happy that he made me this beautiful weapon. Ah here it is.” Rees spoke as he finally pulled out what looked like a black toothpick.
Leon blinked with a confused expression on his face, “That’s your weapon ?”
“Hold on…” Rees brought the stick to his mouth and whispered something in an ancient language.
Swish.
In an instant, the miniature stick expanded into a full-sized black scythe, a sharp blade gleaming at one end.
“A scythe ?” Leon muttered, his eyes widening in surprise.
“She’s called Rias,” Rees said, tracing the blade lovingly with a bony fingers. “My partner for a long time.”
“Have you used spatial magic on her in order to to shrink it like that ?” Leon asked with a smile as he looked at the scythe.
“No. Runes. A friend engraved them into the handle. They shrink the weapon and until I speak a specific phrase, she can’t come back to her original form.” Rees explained.
“I see…” Leon turned back toward the forest. “Let’s move then.”
“Ah yes.”
Both of them began to tread through snow-dusted underbrush, wind rustling overhead.
“So… any target in mind? Like a specific monster you want to kill first.” Rees asked as he looked at Leon.
“Whatever crosses my path, I will try to kill it.” Leon replied with a plain face.
He then reached into his pouch and withdrew one of the wooden beads.
“Seal.” Leon spoke as he activated the skill.
<Blast Seal>
[-20 MP]
A black circle materialized over the bead. Leon ran his thumb along its surface and suddenly, a series of notifications started popping in front of his face.
[-20 MP]
[-20 MP]
[-20 MP]
…
Layers of seals stacked one upon the other with incredible speed. After a few seconds another notification popped up in front of him:
[Maximum Seals have been applied.]
He pocketed the bead, pulled out the second one, and began repeating the process.
Rees watched silently. He had learned not to interrupt Leon when he was preparing something… because if he asked question right now, Leon’s answer will only make more questions in his mind.
They continued walking until a low, guttural growl broke through the howling wind.
Grrrrr…
“Hm?” Leon stopped. “Did you hear that?”
“I did.” Rees pointed to a thick patch of bushes. “It’s coming from there.”
“Glitch Point.”
Three red dots appeared over the bushes—clustered together.
’The dots are awfully close that means it’s a single target with three weak spots.’ Leon thought in his mind.
Rees pulled his scythe from his back and began casting buffs. Green runes glowed softly along the blade.
<Inspect>
[Name: —]
[Race: Wild Agile Boar]
[Level: 9]
[HP: 900/900]
[MP: 600/600]
[Description: Wild Agile Boars are known for their strength and relentless speed. They prey on human children and weaker flesh, preferring easy kills.]
’It’s hesitating,’ Leon thought. ’Maybe because of Rees’s aura.’
He turned. “Rees, step back.”
“What?! Are you sure? We don’t even know what we’re deal—”
“I know.” Leon’s tone left no room for argument.
“…Yes.” Rees stepped back but kept casting buffs.
Leon crouched, holding three exploding beads in one hand, his thumb ready over one.
“Come on… come out.”
Suddenly, the bushes rustled.
Oink-oink-oink!
The boar lunged forward with shocking speed, tusks aimed for Leon’s legs.
“Mr. Leon, it’s a Wild Agile Boa—”
Leon flicked the bead toward it and whispered, “Kaboom.”
BOOOOOOOOM.
A deafening explosion shook the earth. Snow scattered. Blood painted the white ground crimson.
Leon looked down.
At his feet, the massive boar lay still—half its head obliterated, the rest twitching in its death throes.
[Congratulations! You have Leveled Up!]
Rees approached, stunned. “W-What was that?!”
Leon smiled, brushing soot from his coat. “You’re not the only one with hidden magic weapons, Rees.”
He turned, walking deeper into the forest.
“Let’s keep going.”
“W-What kind of magic is this guy even using ? Even I haven’t seen such a spell that can be activated this fast and without any chants as well.” Rees murmured in a low voice as he started following Leon.