Chapter 24: Monster House

Back the next day with renewed energy, Sol felt ready to tackle these next floors. Taking the teleport sigil at the entrance to the 6th floor, he looked at the passage that led deeper into the dungeon.

"Today I will definitely level up, but whether I can again depends on how many higher-level enemies I can beat."

After killing the Earth Giant, Sol was 3000 experience shy of leveling up, and these next floors would consist of monsters from levels 25-40, which was around the same level as the average C-Rank adventurer.

From the dungeon guide Sol bought, there were two monsters he really wished to [Siphon]. The first was the Sentient Gems and Earth Elementals. The first because they knew earth magic, being the last of the four basic elements Sol still didn't have, and Earth Elementals, the strongest monsters in this dungeon. They were known for being incredibly durable, not only having the [Physical Resistance] skill but [Natural Armor] as well, which he wanted to obtain for himself.

While Sol usually fought with the intention of not getting hit, he wasn't perfect. For example, when he was fighting the Earth Golem and was surprised by the landslide attack which took out a fifth of his HP, if not for taking cover, a direct hit from the golem could have finished him. This was why he needed higher defense to cover for this weakness. His plan was to first evolve his earth magic to intermediate and then descend for the Earth Elementals. If he saw any other good skills, he would also pick them up along the way.

With the plan in mind, Sol ventured forth into the dungeon.

…

On the 8th floor of the dungeon.

Sol faced a glowing orange gem with multiple rocks floating around it. It conjured rock spikes and launched them his way. Sol rolled out of the way and began casting a spell.

"Burn my foe to cinders, [Fireball]!"

A ball of fire whizzed through the air and landed directly on the Sentient Gem, dealing the final blow. Sol quickly used [Siphon] as usual just before it was consumed by the dungeon.

You have slain a Lv 35 Sentient Spirit! Gained 1400 Exp (280%)

[Basic Earth Magic] leveled up! (8 -> 9)

[Increased Mana Regeneration] leveled up! (7 -> 8)

"Phew. It really was worth it to come deeper into the dungeon. The experience gained alone is insane; I only need around 40 kills for each level up at this rate. I can reach level 30 by today if I am fast enough. Not to mention the skills I have gained as well."

Sol opened his status screen to see his progress.

Name: Sol

Race: Human

Talents: [Siphoner]

Level: 27 

Exp: 24,380/45,000

HP: 400

MP: 150

Str: 40 (+20)

Vit: 30 (+10)

Agi: 30 (+15)

Int: 15

Wis: 15

Available Stats: 0

Talent Skills:

[Siphon] Lv 3, [Analysis] Lv 3

Passive Skills:

[Intermediate Swordsmanship] Lv 3->4, [Basic Trapmaking] Lv 1->4, [Silent Steps] Lv 5->7, [Parry] Lv 5->6, [Quick Cast] Lv 4, [Agility Up] Lv 2->3, [Foraging] Lv 7->8, [Basic Throwing] Lv 6->9, [Intermediate Unarmed Mastery] Lv 1, [Strength Up] Lv 4, [Basic Bowmanship] Lv 4->7, [Basic Axemanship] Lv 4->7, [Iron Stomach] Lv 2, [Tracking] Lv 5, [Vitality Up] Lv 2, [Increased Mana Regeneration] Lv 8, [Physical Resistance] Lv 8, [Mana Perception] Lv 6

Active Skills:

[Cross Slash] Lv 1->2, [Leap] Lv 8, [Basic Wind Magic] Lv 1, [Intermediate Fire Magic] Lv 4, [Snap Punch] Lv 2, [Sprint] Lv 5->7, [Harden] Lv 6->9, [Power Shot] Lv 2, [Concealment] Lv 3->4, [Wide Swing] Lv 4, [Basic Water Magic] Lv 5, [Basic Earth Magic] Lv 9

(A/N: Some skills have leveled from his raid on the goblin camp and others from the dungeon itself.)

These past two level ups Sol spent his available stats on his intelligence and wisdom as he wanted to be able to use magic more reliably. If he had access to more mana, the fight against the Earth elemental would not have been that tedious and risky.

'I think around 10 more should rank up earth magic and I can also max out [Increased Mana Regeneration].'

About to move to the next area to find more Sentient Gems to defeat, he heard the sounds of combat not far away. This didn't surprise Sol, as it was probably a party of adventurers, and it wasn't the first time he had encountered them. Usually when he bumped into other parties, at most they greeted each other before quickly parting ways. No adventurer liked to meet others while diving into a dungeon in fear of being robbed and killed. If they ended up perishing, no one would even know as the dungeon consumed all who died inside.

Sol, about to head to a different passage to avoid confronting the group ahead, overheard them.

"There are too many goddammit! We walked into a monster house!"

'Monster house?!'

A rare occurrence in a dungeon where the dungeon produces too many monsters in a single area. The amount of monsters is completely dependent on the available space and mana the dungeon has, but it's at least 10 times the normal amount. The reason why a dungeon would create so many monsters clustered together still eludes the greatest researchers. What people do know is that it is extremely dangerous and requires a large group to deal with it so that it may return to normal.

Sol knew the dangers of a monster house but hearing the screams of the party in danger he ran in their direction.

Entering the area, he saw a party of four being besieged by 30 Sentient Gems casting spells towards the group. The shield bearer at the front was doing his best to protect his allies, but with so many, he could not block from all directions. The mage, priest, and warrior stood behind him trying to push back the attackers to little effect.

The shield bearer despaired, seeing this hopeless situation, and faced his teammates, "RUN! I will hold them back as much as I can! We don't all have to die here!"

The adventurers behind him were not foolish; they knew it was impossible to turn this around but were reluctant to abandon their teammate.