Chapter 119: Beast Grove Dungeon [3], Meeting Lucas & Little Accident [1]
[14th Everdusk 2103], DC-23 City, Dyna Crest country, CGA Branch, Beast Grove Fields.
While in association, Lucas was attempting gather his teammates, in the dungeon where Evan was hunting. We observed a few skeletons hunting a boar, which was lying on the field with a bone fang pierced into its belly just below the heart area.
The boar, in its last moments, tried to run away from the skeletons. Gathering all its energy, it charged forward, but the escape mission proved futile as someone was waiting for it a short distance away.
The boar, seeing its enemy, thought it could simply charge through, but the person raised a black sword and slashed straight at the boar's throat. A flame surged from the blade, making a cut as the boar's head fell to the ground The body took a few more steps before collapsing.
"Hah~~! looks like I can now face some boars by myself after gaining so many stats and items from these hunts," said Evan, the one wielding the blade. He put the blade back in his inventory and quickly sat in front of the boar to use his talent before anyone else arrived.
"Plunder," said, as the talent activated, and the Boar body was enveloped in energy.
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Skill: Charge (Lv.1 → Lv.3)
Type: Active
Mana Cost: 15 MP → 25 MP
Cooldown: 10 sec → 8 sec
Proficiency: 0%
Description:
A skill taken from a monster, wild boar, allowing the user to dash forward with explosive force. Upon impact, the target is knocked back and may be momentarily staggered. Ideal for closing distances or breaking enemy formations.
Effects
Forward Dash: Rushes up to 5 → 7 meters in a straight line.
Impact Force: Damage increased by 5 → 15%.
Stagger Chance: 10 →15% chance to momentarily disrupt the enemy's balance.
Momentum Boost: If Charge is used immediately after sprinting, it gains an additional 5% damage boost. (!)
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"Huh, I am going to be incredibly overpowered if I have to live until the end. It even got a new effect for me to use," Evan said as he saw the skill description. He had leveled up without even using it once.
He still remembered when it first appeared, and he saw the skill proficiency increase just by acquiring the same skill.
"That guy must have sacrificed many things to gain these talents for sure," Evan said, feeling full of himself as things were going well.
"Well, now I have gained some stats from this Boar. In total, I have now from just this hunt: 18 STR, +17 AGL, +11 STA, +2 INT, +7 END, +5 VIT. I might reach the stats limit by the time I get to max level, I think," Evan said as he started counting his gains, as the system notification of the kill appeared.
[You've killed Lv.27 Forest Boar, you've gained +510 EXP (+50% EXP for Level Gap).] [2,640/2,200]
[You've levelled up. Lv.21(1^)] [440/2400]
[You've gained 10 Unassigned Stat points.]
"Huh, finally another level up. Gaining seven levels in one day is good, but in the later stages, it can be called monstrous," Evan thought as he began stuffing the boar and looked at his skill section to see the changes that had occurred today.
[<<Skill Upgrade>>
--) <Undead Summon>, Lv.3(1^) [02%]
--) <Weapon Mastery>, Lv.3(1^) (12%)
--) <Necrotic Aura>, Lv.3 (1^) (32%)
--) <Magical Focus>, Lv.3 (1^) (3%)
--) <Basic Battle Instinct>, Lv.4 (2^) (5%)
--) <Weak Curse>, Lv2 (1^) (16%)]
"Hmm~~! If it goes that way, then surely, I will reach the maximum level in skills by the end." said as he looked around for more beasts, but eyes fell on someone he didn't want to see.
Yes, it was Lucas, accompanied by someone Evan didn't recognize.
"Hmm, Lucas, what is he doing here and who is this girl? Perhaps his team partner and likely his soon-to-be family member, I'm sure of it." Evan as he noticed them walking toward him. He looked around to see if there were any beasts nearby or if they were approaching another group, but no one else was around.
"Is he coming toward me? What should I do now?" Evan thought, beginning to panic and attempting to hide his face when he had an idea.
"Please let it work," Evan thought as he made his mask visible and altered his status, knowing that Lucas might have ways to pry into others' statuses.
"Umm~~! Brother, are you hunting here?" Lucas asked directly, while the girl behind him remained silent, her entirely on Lucas's face as if her heart was melting every time.
"Ahmm!" Evan didn't anything and just nodded.
"Oh, okay then, maybe you have taken the test for the solo hunting maybe, right? But brother why are you wearing a mask now as isn't hunting solo a kind of brave work only done by strong hunters?" Lucas asked, trying to engage him while his eyes scanned area to find some signs of blood.
"NOTHING, JUST LEING AFTER HUNTING, NOTHING ELSE," Evan said like that in heavy voice to disguise his voice to sound like someone else.
"If you don't mind, would you like to join us for hunting?" Lucas asked, trying to recruit him into his team as he was still missing one member, as Tess's level was too high to enter this dungeon.
"Ammm~~! Lucas, I think we shouldn't involve anyone like this, especially since he is trying to hide his identity. He might be a criminal or a banned hunter from CGA, here to hunt illegally," the girl behind Lucas whispered to him.
"Don't worry, Ilyra, I have an eye for people, and I think he is just a hunter of the same age as us. He is only Level 21, and you should know that I can handle anyone here if any issues arise," Lucas told her. Perhaps she didn't notice, but Evan did; he saw that his eye color was different than before, as if assessing him.
Evan was sure that Lucas was using his talent related to dragon and now he was sure what it was, a Dragon eye or sight maybe of SSS rank he can guess.
'They think I don't know what they're talking about, assuming my stats are low, but I have more than they can imagine,' Evan thought. He even considered joining them right now and killing Lucas and even handling the girl Ilya, but he thought maybe someone might see him, so he dropped the idea and decided to leave the dungeon for now.
"Would you like to join our party for a hunt? My name is Lucas, and I am a D-rank Battle Mage. This is Ilya, my old friend, and an A-rank Healer with a unique class," Lucas introduced himself.
"OH, YES, MY NAME IS RAVEN. I AM A NEWBIE HUNTER LIKE YOU AND A D-RANK SWORDSMAN. SORRY, GUYS, BUT I'VE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME ALREADY, SO I HAVE TO LEAVE. THANKS FOR THE OFFER," Evan, pretending to be Raven, told them. Lucas nodded as he observed what Evan was showing him.
'This guy class is already D rank huh. Maybe should have got an upgrade in it.' Evan thought.
"Oh, okay, but come to me if you ever wish to join our team. Here is my ID number to contact me," Lucas said, showing him, his ID. Evan glanced at it for a few seconds and nodded.
"OKAY, BYE," Evan nodded and started walking away but overheard what Ilya said about him.
"What an attitude that guy has. He didn't even note the contact info you gave him and didn't show his own," Ilya said with a hint of anger in her voice.
"Oh, don't worry, Ilya. Maybe his way of talking is like that, and he doesn't get close to others quickly. Just relax. We don't have much time left to hunt here, but I also think that his voice is someone I know." Lucas said. Ilya nodded, shook off her sulk, and followed Lucas as they walked ahead to find some monsters to hunt.
While at some distance away, Evan glanced back at their disappearing figure, sighed, and felt a bit relieved to get entangled with them at the moment.
He knew he would have deal with them eventually, but not now as was not prepared enough.
"Well, let's go home for today as six boars are enough to get some money and a healthy portion of meat from them as well," he told himself and started walking toward the dungeon exit area when a huge voice echoed from behind him. He looked back and found something shocking.
"This sh*t is really messing with me...."
-<To be Continued>-