CHAPTER 38 Deep Dive
And soon I was able to see that they were rats but any rat, not even the smallest ones were bigger than a kid's electric car. And add up to the fact that they were in numbers of hundreds as far as I could see in a straight line.
"G-G-Ginat Rats"
Yoo Jinho shuttered in fear as he spoke the wrong way. reflecting the deep fear he just got after seeing the creatures of nightmares.
the beasts beast shown above proved to be over two feet long, not counting the length of its tail. At a distance, these creatures might be mistaken for large dogs, but on closer inspection, their foul and unnatural disposition is all too clear. Giant Rats have hairless tails and feet, they exhibit rampant signs of severe mutation and the diabolic grafting so frequent in Clan Moulder-made beasts.
Sketch of a skeleton of another Giant Rat encountered in the cellars of Miragliano.
Many of these rats have additional heads, sets of extra limbs, multiple tails, or even more monstrous additions. Spines, spikes, tusk-like incisors, or vast hunches of bony plates can be almost commonplace, while some of the more grotesque creations have exposed ribs, enormous mounds of throbbing buboes, or worse.
And Regardless of their bewildering variations, all Giant Rats are vicious, wicked, and eternally hungry.
The Giant Rat is "a menace for those who would search for treasure in ancient ruins or tombs". Similar to their smaller cousins in every way except for their size, which can be up to a meter long.
I can't even fathom how this is a B-Rank dungeon as each one of them were E-rank monsters, some even D-rank.
I knew if they reached us, they would surround us and Yoo Jinho would definitely die.
I lifted my foot and slammed it hard on the ground while casting the spell "Shockwave "
Ding!
Shockwave
Level: 1
Rank: Epic (S- -)
Skill Type: Active
Mana Cost: 100
AOE: 100 meters/varied
Cool Down: None
Damage: varied on defense and the resistance
Effect: creates a shockwave that inflicts strong damage on the target and stuns them for a small time frame.
I modified the spells so it could only attack in front rater everywhere in a 100-meter circle and spoke the name "Shockwave!!"
As my foot collided with the ground a huge shock wave traveled towards them as thunder spared all over the ground and once it hit.
"Screeeeeeech! Screeeeeeech! Screeeeeeech!
Screeeeeeech! Screeeeeeech! Screeeeeeech!
Screeeeeeech! Screeeeeeech! Screeeeeeech!"
Just after I heard the screams of creatures it confirmed that most if not E-ranks were dead.
But still, a big position was alive, So without giving them a second I cast the next spell.
"Call Lightning"
"Zzzzz Bam Bom"
screeeeech!
skitter skitter skitter-
scree-
Rats scream in pain while their flesh burns alive from the lightning bolts that fell on them.
Ding~!
You've leveled up!
You've leveled up!
Ding~!
[Intelligence stat has reached 175 You have gained the passive skill Absolute Recall.]
[Absolute Recall - Passive (LV. MAX): A passive skill given to the Player when intelligence stat has reached 175. This skill gives the player the ability to recall all past memories with great detail and accuracy. Absolute Recall is a skill that's obtained and maxed.]
[Note: This skill has positive and negative side effects. While this skill helps the player in memorizing all details and recalling even the vaguest memories, it will also not allow the player to forget any unhappy or traumatic experiences.]
Ding~!
[The skill Lesser Mana Affinity has evolved to Mana Affinity. This increases the total Mana points, by 2%, The power of the Mana skills, increases by 1%. Lasen the consumption of mana skills by 2%.]
[Due Players Intelligence stat reached 175 From now on the player's Mana stat will increase by a factor of two for each intelligence point]
"Sweet"
I smiled as I read the blue system boxes. I was right about the achievements It looks like intelligence stats increased to 175 gives passive skills or Evolves already obtained skills… But shouldn't it be around I just increase the other stats to 100 right now?...'
After all my intelligence was always high so this got me thinking that either I would get some great after I reached 100 or 175 just like intelligence right?
I looked at my health, fatigue, and intelligence points. All of them have increased considerably. Especially my intelligence points.
"Sigh," "..." I sighed as I felt not even a single rat was alive.
So it wasn't about their MP and HP but their numbers, where they lack in power they fill it with their huge number which could pose danger even for an S-rank.
'It was a good idea to learn crowd control spells, primarily moments like these. I am sure if they had reached us the situation would have gotten messier.
The spell was just a much weaker version of Earthquake and Magnitude, but where both
Earthquake and Magnitude are all offensive powers.
Shockwave was better at most times
because of its paralyzing effect, it's one of the best skills among wide-ranged area magic skills!
Two levels pretty with their number it was easy with multiple AOE spells. And with this now I am 53(13%).
As I read the details of the absolute recall skill a frown formed on my face. 'It's indeed a great skill to have but the negative side effect… To, not forget anything bad that's happened. That's going to be rough.'
Just then the image of everything I ever saw came to my mind. Along with memories that he couldn't even remember before. My eyes widened as the memories came flooding in.
As I grabbed my head in pain as memories of my long life became as clear as crystal water to every last detail before they again became clouded leaving only the latest memories years of memories clear, which was actually much more than what I remembered before, at least 10 times more.
'OH, My God!!. I've seen everyone, even the fillers, even before I met them in that forest. He was a filler character during the end of solo leveling.'
I started recalling past memories. I only saw the filler chapter a couple of times before moving on. But now with this skill, I could remember every single detail.
I sighed thinking about the incident. 'We'll… No point in thinking about it now…' I slightly shook my head as if to forget the memories and move on.
"Wow!! Hyungnim, that was amazing, I never saw you use that spell.."
"Well it's new and I only use it at times like these but now let's not get distracted by things like that."
As we moved forward leaving behind the crispy corpses of giant rats while walking I picked up most Intact corpses while Yoo Jinho did the same with Magic Crystal.
Because there weren't many of them, we were able to move forward within minutes.
Now this brings me to the latest problem I have.
I need more hands. One major reason is I have to touch the thing I want to store in my inventory. It doesn't work with thoughts.
And the biggest reason is Drain Life. To use the skill I have to touch the body and remain in contact until the corps is turned to husk…
And because I only have two hands I have to be satisfied with the strongest and let the other corpse go. I know they won't give me much but still, every point counts, especially when there is a chance of getting a stat point.
So I need a skill like Unseen Hand or something similar. Even if they can't be used in a fight, it would still be great even the tentacles would work for me.
It should be like Unseen Hand from Re:Zero which was used by madam Petegeuse Romanée-Conti.
I already tested it and it had positive results. So long as I am in contact with the corps I can use life drain on them which is four and skill works simultaneously granting me HP and MP.
But the problem is I don't know how to create a skill like that. But I am sure if I was able to create it will be a great help in my arsenal.
I shook my head to get rid of thoughts. It wasn't time to think about such messy things primarily when I am aware this place was something that was never described in the story.
So what I know is that this place is a labyrinth and a Ruin which means there must be a treasure here.
Let's hope it is and I am not thinking about gold or silver but something that could boost my power. Money matters to me as much as a hooker.
While the deeper we entered darker it got The silver rays of the magical fire shone through the holes everywhere. This really looked like a ruin of someone or something or a tomb for some big shot.
I already took out my daggers. I kept my senses on high alert.
As we were walking through the ruins I suddenly stopped and picked up Yoo Jinho and within an instant jumped to the right. The next moment I saw a creature with black wings around 4 feet size standing where I previously stood.
[Bloodthirsty Bat]
[One of the dozen vicious giant bats living in nearby places. These creatures are bloodthirsty and attack anything that comes near their habitat. They are drawn to red blood due to their large mana reserves and amounts of blood. These bats hunt in big groups on the commands of the kings or queens to avoid infighting]
I read the information quickly.
"Are you fucking kidding me is everything here in groups?" I said my thoughts out loud.
This was frustrating especially when I knew I had to protect while fighting and the thing flew which meant Shockwave won't work.
But I knew I had to end it as if friends came out it would be a pain in the ass to get rid of them. My hands slightly shook,
The bat turned in my direction. It spread its wings and shot off toward me. I dodged a second time as well.
"Acid Arrow"
Ding!
Acid Arrow
Level: 1
Rank: Unique (B+)
Skill Type: Active
Mana Cost: 10
AOE: Single Target
Cool Down: None
Damage: 100(20/S)
Effect: A single-target spell that fires a deadly bolt of caustic acid at the enemy.
Deals 100 damage initially and 20 damage per second if the target isn't immune.
The number of Arrow will increase with the level of the skill.
I aimed at the upcoming bat. Grabbed my knife "Bang" "Swiss Swiss" The acidic arrow flew towards the bat, and the bat saw the upcoming arrow and dodged by an inch of hair. "Scccrrreeeeccch" "Bam" Kreee…." The bat screamed and cried in pain as though it was able to dodge the arrow but the knife I threw at him directly hit his head.
Because of this critical hit and added extra damage with a dagger the huge bat died instantly and fell on the ground.
Before I could celebrate I felt movement behind me. I turned and slashed my back with ferocity. The edge of the blade struck the leg of another bat. It swiftly dodged upwards as I attacked so it only took a minor damage.
[Bloodthirsty bat]
The information was about the same as the other bat with 2 key differences. It's level, health points, and mana points. This one's stats were a lot bigger than the previous creature's.
I took several daggers and threw them. The new bat evaded all and was about to attack me but it sensed danger from behind. The knives it dodged earlier struck its back. Piercing through its wings and back.
'I had a feeling you would be able to dodge. So I predicted your moments and threw them at locations where you should move, changing the trajectory of the daggers looks like I made the right move.'
The wounds in its body only made it angrier.
"Kreech." It screeched and shot at me. I quickly used the Lightning arrow and now with its level two there were four arrows more powerful than before. As arrows flew fast because of their wounds he wasn't able to them and was impaled by four lightning arrows.
I targeted its head and torso wings. After receiving several strikes to the vital areas it quickly died. It didn't even have time to scream before it died.
'Not a bad start... I've learned quite a bit from these two fights. A fatal blow on the head will still kill it like most creatures, which means beheading instantly kills the enemy. Good to know these things won't regenerate like the reanimation-evolved zombies or werewolves or trolls. Even though the bodies have completely different structures that are made of materials, their properties are like real living beings. So the vital strike skill is gonna be very useful. And coupled with Dagger mastery, It'll be deadly.'
I collected the scattered Daggers and sat down under nearby veins after making sure it was safe. I rested and thought about my next move.
Going in deeper blindly could be deadly especially if their nest is around somewhere.
Furthermore, I can't forget about traps.
'Because I have the inventory ability, food, and water are no problem. But I shouldn't rely on that. This is a great place to not only increase my level but learn to survive in the wild, learn about traps, and figure out locations.
After planning for a few minutes I got up,
"Let's go," I told Yoo Jinha who nodded without speaking a word as we walked. After a couple of minutes of walking...
'Where the hell am I even going?
But I don't have the choice, destroying walls could pretty much be a suicide. So there is only one way.
If my intentions aren't wrong then the place is about 5 km long in diameter.
I have a feeling that something is moving slowly and surrounding me. I used superior hearing and heard the sounds of light steps rustling and tree branches slowly creaking. I looked up and saw my next opponents. Only one word went through my mind as I looked at those raging red eyes.
'Fuck!!'
When I looked up he saw five giant angry apes looking down at me. With eyes red and spit drooling between their teeth, the giant apes snarled at us. They were the size of an adult human.
[Long Armed Ape]
[A primate with particularly strong and long arms. These apes are savage and usually hunt in the evening or night. They travel in packs of 3 or 4. They are very territorial creatures and would attack and kill anything that trespasses into their domain. They use their fists to smash their prey. This Ape came here due to the sounds of the bat it heard earlier. This Ape wants to kill anyone for entering its hunting area.]
[Primite Long Armed Ape]
'OH, man! These things have double the health and mana points than werewolves, I am sure their HP is even more than me. And their bodies look pretty strong. I need to go for the necks and joints. Cut their limbs and make them useless.'
"Stone Wall Stone Wall Stone Wall Stone Wall"
I cast a stone wall four times surrounding Yoo Jinho so he can be personally safe.
.....
So it's decided that both Akame and Esdeath will come to this world as Jinwoo lovers.
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