“How many more such attacks before your mana runs out?” Asher asked Alyssa, turning to face her.
He needed to know everything before moving forward.
“I am not sure, but about 100 if I don’t use my gravity magic,” Alyssa replied.
Her skills were still not polished, unlike Asher’s, so she didn’t have that precise control over her mana like Asher did. In the long run, Alyssa was not powerful enough to deal with all the dungeon beasts being at E+ Rank.
Each Ice lance required her precise calculation on how dense the ice would be and how sharp she could form it. The D Rank monsters required a lot of mana per ice lance, so there was not much she could do without resting and recharging her mana levels.
The fact she had not learned any other spells was also another factor that her arsenal was not as strong as Asher’s. But it was the same for Asher. Like Alyssa, he also didn’t know any spells or magic about his major elements.
There was a reason he never tried to learn them because his previous body was not capable of wielding magic. But he compensated for that weakness by having an immensely powerful body that could handle his sword skills.
But right now, he could only rely on his new sword art, which though powerful, was still in its early stages.
While Asher was forming a strategy to go forward with, a sudden voice in his head interrupted his thought process.
[I recommend the host to increase your level by hunting beasts]
The system advised Asher.
It was the first time the system had directly advised Asher like this.
‘Status-Level,’ Asher said, and a screen with only his level appeared in front of him.
—–| Fate Devourer System |—–
[Name] : Asher Von Raven Greville
[Level] – 17 (EXP 3500/17,000)
————————————–
He was currently at D- Rank, and seeing that mid D Rank Monsters gave him 500 XP, there was a chance Asher could raise his level a few times considering the amount of monsters high rank dungeons had, and he also had his bloodline ability, which was currently on cooldown.
[The host can gain many things if you raise your level, and the most important is Authority]
‘Authority,’ this word piqued Asher’s interest as he wanted many answers regarding his regression.
[There is a high chance of many features returning if the host’s level goes higher]
Although Asher didn’t know what those levels were because despite him going from F+ Rank to D-, his level only increased with killing beasts. No matter how much he increased his stats, they did not affect his level.
The current system was not something that Asher really used apart from checking his status. But he could gain more by leveling up and understanding about the system and what was the purpose it was given to him.
“If we rest in between, I can gather my mana pretty quickly,” Alyssa spoke out.
She thought that her answer was not good as Asher had not said anything, so she proposed another option. She knew that the current her was not powerful, but she was confident enough to face D Rank monsters and help Asher.
“We can’t,” Asher said, pointing at the lava.
Alyssa noticed that the amount of lava around the cracks had increased a bit. A bit more lava was flowing out of the cracks.
A frown appeared on her face as a sudden realization occurred to her; dungeons were not a place where the environment was meant to suit humans.
“We need to go further into the dungeon,” Asher said as he picked the corpse of the Kirons into his spatial ring.
“Take the beasts you killed as well,” Asher told Alyssa.
“Okay,” Alyssa did as Asher had told her.
They walked a bit and passed by the strange-looking ponds. The amount of food they had was only enough to last two days, and due to the constant fighting, they would need a constant source of energy apart from mana.
As they walked further into the dungeon, they saw a narrow bridge made of stones over the pool of lava beneath it. Small embers of fire could be seen a few meters up in the air emerging from the lava.
Asher used his mana sense and felt the outline of the dungeon in his head, as well as any presence of monsters. This was the skill that was greatly strengthened when he upgraded Mana Flow to Rank A.
“Cross it first,” Asher told Alyssa, who nodded at him.
The bridge was not wide enough for both of them to cross together, so one of them needed to step in first. Alyssa took a step, and the bridge was pretty strong. But Asher had already checked whether the bridge was a trap or not, so she didn’t need to fear anything. Following her, Asher also crossed the bridge. They soon made it past the pool of lava and saw the strange biome in front of them.
Several small pools of lava were present in the wide space, but what was even more terrifying was various Hyelthers that were present there. Asher used his mana sense and saw that apart from a few Hyelthers, there were no other monsters in the vicinity, at least not the ones that Asher had initially sensed.
“Remember my words?” Asher asked, looking at Alyssa, who nodded at him.
Although this experience would have terrified any normal person, Alyssa was calm. She had experienced much worse than this when she was very young, and that deeply etched memory was far more fearful than the beasts in front of her.
ƥαṇdα-ηθνε|·ƈθm
Asher stepped forward, and his presence alerted a few Hyelthers that were near the pool of lava. Seeing Asher, the Hyelthers immediately became enraged, and one of them roared very loudly. He slammed his hand on the ground, and lava around the pool flowed beneath its feet. The lava did not harm the Hyelthers; in fact, it didn’t even bother them. But it made it more difficult for Asher to move around between them.
“RROOOWRR!” A deafening shout of the monster could be heard.
With their bare hands, a few Hyelthers tried to jump on Asher, but they missed as the agile human disappeared below them. Asher dashed forward but turned towards the Hyelthers and used his aura to strengthen his legs. He pushed the ground and leaped. His aura covered his sword. The Hyelthers were turning, but before the first could turn completely, Asher, who was currently mid-air, turned and slashed the lava-like eyes of one of the Hyelthers.
The Hyelther cried out in pain and slammed its hand, harming other Hyelthers. Monsters didn’t have the same intelligence as humans, but their battle instincts made them quite dangerous.
A Hyelther who was a bit away tried to grapple onto Asher, but before it could reach him, Asher turned and slashed its throat.
[Host has gained 500 EXP]
But a Hyelther who was about to attack Asher was killed instantly as an Ice Lance penetrated its neck.
Alyssa’s attack made the monster turn towards her, and Asher didn’t miss it. He took the chance to use the body of the Hyelther as a surface to jump towards the other Hyelther.
Before the Hyelther could realize it, Asher was already behind its head and cut the head in half from top to bottom, instantly killing the Hyelther.
[Host has gained 500 EXP]
Another Hyelther slammed its leg, and a few drops of lava came towards Asher due to the impact made by the monster.
Asher was about to dodge it, but Alyssa was quicker, making the lava fall to the ground instantly.
“Descend,” Alyssa said, getting used to Asher’s movement.
It was rather difficult for someone her age to get used to Asher’s movement, but it displayed her talent to analyze the situation quickly and help Asher.
Alyssa’s brain was capable of multitasking, same as people like Eva and Asher. This was the reason she could handle the mental strain that came when using spatial magic.
Asher looked at the lava on the floor and a few Hyelthers who were approaching him from opposite directions.
“I will handle the left,” Alyssa shouted, and Asher immediately went toward the Hyelther on his right.
*Clang*
The Hyelther tried to smash Asher, but his fist got repelled by Asher’s sword. Asher’s strength was almost on par with a mid-D Rank monster, but using his Aura on his sword made it possible for him to repel the Hyelther’s attack.
The Hyelther lost its balance, and Asher used the chance to dash forward and plunge his sword into the heart of the monster killing it instantly.
[Host has gained 500 EXP]
But not resting, he turned to the half-dead beast on the ground that had an Ice Lance make a deep wound on its back, changed the grip on his sword, and dashed forward passing by the Hyelther’s body.
Asher turned calmly with blood dropping from the edge of his sword.
The struggling Hyelther stopped moving as its head got detached from its body, and blood kept flowing out of the beast. On the other hand, Alyssa had already killed another Hyelther that had turned its attention towards her.
[Host has gained 500 EXP]
In a short amount of time, they had killed more than 7 mid-D Rank monsters.
“SCREEEEEEEEEEECH,” A sharp sound of a monster was heard as Asher turned his head and looked at the monster coming towards them.
There were a few Hyelthers that were running in fear from something, but their lives ended instantly as bursts of fire made holes in their heads.
“What is that?” Alyssa got serious and flared her mana, she was feeling a bit threatened that was coming their way.
Asher looked at the end of the dark cavern, where a humanoid monster with burning hands pierced the chests of the Hyelthers, took their hearts out, and started eating them.
Taking a bite, the monster turned its face, revealing four lava-colored eyes with a very wide jaw that was eating the heart of the dead Hyelther.
Blood dripping out of the corner of jaw as he chewed on the heart of the dead Hyelther.
“SCREEEEEEEEECH,” A similar sound came out of the mouth of the monster as it looked at its new prey.
‘C Rank,’ Asher said in his mind as he covered himself with his aura.
What he didn’t want had happened. It was not impossible for high-ranking dungeons to have similar rank monsters in them apart from the boss monster sometimes, but it was quite rare in B Rank and below Dungeons.
A/N : For such fights I will add the Experience Counter in the Authors Note below at the end of every chapter during this dungeon run.