The Third Floor: Murky Underground Streams

The transition was abrupt. One moment, I stood amidst the fading light of the system's teleportation glow; the next, I was enveloped in stifling humidity.

The air was a suffocating mixture of damp and decay, thick with the sharp tang of algae and stagnant water.

Dripping echoed endlessly, the sound bouncing off the cavern walls to create a maddening rhythm.

The floor was alive with the murmur of sluggish streams, their dark, swirling waters crisscrossed by narrow, slippery stone walkways.

I could feel the sense of familiarity of this floor to the previous one.

I took a step forward, the slick surface beneath my boots making me pause. A faint ripple caught my eye as a translucent slime rose from the water, its acidic body gleaming faintly in the dim light.

It bobbed innocuously until it lunged, its amorphous form stretching unnaturally toward me. It was also about 1.5x bigger than the ones on the 2nd floor.

Before I could react, the system chimed.

[System has received permission to enforce special rules on the 3rd floor]

[Warning: Cosmic Radiation kills will trigger a double respawn penalty. Alternate methods recommended.]

I cursed under my breath. The radiation wave that had obliterated the monsters on the second floor would be useless here. Worse than useless, it would make things exponentially harder.

The slime struck, its gelatinous pseudopod slamming into the rock where I had been standing moments before.

I leapt back, the acid hissing as it ate into the stone. My heart pounded. This wasn't going to be a simple battle.

As I steadied myself, more ripples appeared in the water. Dozens of slimes rose, their translucent forms quivering with malice.

Near the water's edge, frogs the size of small dogs crouched low, their jewel-toned skin gleaming in the dim light.

Their eyes, unnervingly human in their intelligence, locked onto me.

"Cosmic Push" A surge of energy erupted from my palms, blasting forward in a shimmering wave. It pushed back everything in front of it. Some of the monsters were also dead "Good" I smiled happy at my successful attempt of creating a distance between the monsters and I.

But the system was more observant than I thought and it responded immediately.

[Warning! Cosmic radiation detected. Floor integrity compromised.]

[System will be enacting penalty immediately!]

"Hmm… just as I thought" I had theorized that whenever I used cosmic energy, the possibility that radiation leaked was high and this was the good time for me to test my theory.

It was at that moment I noticed the difference in my thinking.

"I really just tested out my theory even though I knew I could be penalized for it" the old me would have cowered in fear and just follow the rules without much complain. But having these powers have made me to discover another side of me.

"Seun, you need to focus. Dealing with the increased monsters should be the top priority" just as I observed, the flowing streams in the caves seem to have been energized as I sensed more monsters moving rapidly towards my location. I also surveyed the whole floor and discovered it was just about 100 meters larger than the 2nd floor.

The Space manipulation knowledge surged within me.

If I couldn't use radiation, I'd have to rely on the gifts the goddess had bestowed. I will have to learn how to use cosmic energy without creating radiation gradually.

Drawing a deep breath, I focused, letting the space around me ripple and bend to my will. This time I will be using it for something more violent.

"Space Crack" I commanded while extending my hand, visualizing the fabric of space splitting apart.

A crack formed in the air, dark and jagged, its edges shimmering with an otherworldly glow. With a sharp motion, I swung it toward the nearest slime.

The rift sliced through its gelatinous body with ease, severing it cleanly in two. The halves wobbled before collapsing into puddles of bubbling acid.

"The energy required is was very low." I confirmed by checking my status. It was almost the same as just expending my spatial senses that I did before.

Encouraged, I widened the crack into an arc, sweeping it across a cluster of advancing slimes.

Their bodies sizzled and dissolved as the spatial rift carved through them. Even as the last one fell, I knew the danger was far from being over. I could feel the monsters still rushing after all.

From the shadows, more slimes emerged, their numbers seemingly endless. The frogs croaked, their voices resonating like a war cry, and then they leapt—straight at me.

A streak of green shot toward my face, its toxic tongue lashing out like a whip. I ducked, the tongue narrowly missing my cheek, causing a temporary break in my concentration.

And that was all they needed.

Before I could retaliate, another frog lunged from behind, its sharp, clawed feet slashing toward my back. I felt the whoosh of air as it missed me by a hair's breadth.

I realized that some monsters were coming from my back too, they were intelligent to know that surrounding me will give them a better chance at ending me.

The stone beneath my boots shifted dangerously as I moved. My footing faltered, and one of the frogs seized the opportunity, leaping directly onto my chest.

Its heavy and sudden weight knocked me backward, my arms flailing as I fought to keep my balance.

The frog's tongue lashed out, its tip grazing my arm. I could swear my senses screamed poison!

A burning sensation spread instantly, the toxins searing into my skin. I gritted my teeth and used a burst of spatial energy to create a crack, slicing the creature in half before it could do more damage.

I staggered upright, clutching my arm. The wound burned as the area affected become decolorized, my brown skin turning a dangerous hint of purple showed the venom was already spreading.

My vision blurred for a moment, but I was not scared, I could immediately feel relief as the cosmic energy flowing through my body greedily devoured the poison trying to invade my body.

My skin color also returned back to normal.

Relief was immediate, but I knew I couldn't afford another mistake like that. I had mistakenly not account for if I had gotten hurt while exploring.

And I took some seconds to remind myself to get portions or an item that could heal me.

Cosmic energy in my body has taken the stance of completely monopolizing me and it was beneficial as I could not be affected by poison of this level.

But I won't be banking on it completely, I will definitely remember to buy potions next time. I observed that the walkways were narrow and dry which I could use to my advantage.

I created space cracks around me to give myself a breathing space and moved into one of the walkways to make the monsters lose their chance of surrounding me.

But the battle pressed on. The slimes began to coordinate, moving in groups also to corner me in the narrow walkways. The walkways were narrow but was still about 7 foot in breadth.

A misstep could mean falling into the now toxic waters, where the slimes and frogs would overwhelm me in seconds.

One particularly aggressive slime launched itself toward my face, its acidic pseudopods stretched wide.

There was no way I could open a space crack that could save me at this point. Reflexively, I tapped into the knowledge in my head, bending space around me.

In an instant, I shifted a few feet to the left, reappearing just in time to avoid the attack. The slime splashed into the water, momentarily disoriented. I grinned, exhilaration coursing through me.

"Short-range teleportation—it isn't just a theory anymore. I can do it!" I screamed at the heat of the moment.

I began to weave through the battlefield, flickering from one position to another as the monsters swarmed. Each time a frog leapt or a slime lunged, I was gone before they could land a hit.

But the exertion was draining, and I could feel my energy reserves dwindling and my mental strength also draining. I was using two powers at the same time after all.

But at each point, I could also feel growth, the way I was using my powers were getting better.

I could allow cosmic energy to flow into me from the surrounding's but I was scared I won't be able to push it back from the heat of the battle.

I needed a way to slow them down and I need to do it fast. Focusing on a cluster of slimes, I extended my hand and visualized the space around them freezing in place.

The air shimmered, and for a brief moment, the slimes were immobilized, their bodies suspended mid-motion. I swung a crack through them, shattering the frozen space and the monsters within it.

"Space freezing worked too" Encouraged, I turned my attention to a particularly massive slime. This one was different—its body dark and dense, its acidic surface steaming ominously.

I froze it in place, but as I moved in for the kill, it began to pulse, its form resisting the spatial freeze.

I was surprised and before I could react, it exploded, sending a spray of acid in all directions. I threw up a spatial barrier just in time, the acid hissing against the invisible wall.

"Well, I did not expect it to be perfect but a slime destroying my space freeze is bad to my gamer reputation" in all the games I have played, slimes were one of the weaker monsters and I could classify the strength of space freezing as an attack that could be a near trump card, at least at this stage.

The frogs were also relentless, their attacks growing more coordinated as their numbers dwindled. I was space freezing them before dispatching them with a space crack.

Even with my careful actions one of them managed to grab my leg, its claws digging deep bypassing the protection of my clothes and cloak.

I gritted my teeth, before freezing it. I then visualized a spatial vortex to suck it off me. Un-surprisingly a vortex appeared, before it spiraled outward, pulling in several nearby slimes and frogs before collapsing in on itself with a deafening whoomph.

Panting, I realized this had to end fast.

I gathered every ounce of energy I had left, creating a web of interconnected cracks.

The shimmering lines formed a deadly lattice that I swept across the battlefield, cutting through the remaining monsters with ruthless efficiency.

The last frog croaked pitifully as it fell, its body dissolving into the muck.

It was a gamble I managed to pull off with the remaining energy I had.

The cavern fell silent. I stood amidst the carnage, my chest heaving and my limbs trembling from exhaustion. My head was experiencing a migraine which felt like my brains were about to burst out.

The system chimed.

[Floor Cleared!]

[Level Up Achieved!] 4x

[Kill evaluation: S]

[System will now distribute rewards!]

[You have earned 750 DC]

[You have unlock the ability to use the system to view attributes!]

[Your proficiency of [Cosmic Energy Manipulation] has increased to 6%]

A warmth spread through me as the unfamiliar sensation of leveling up washed over my body.

My wounds healed, my energy reserves replenished and increased, and my mastery over cosmic energy felt sharper, more precise.

I couldn't help but smile, despite the still remaining mental exhaustion. The level up did not take away the migraine though I could feel gradual relief.

Looking around, I marveled at what I had achieved. The narrow walkways, the entire floor once teeming with danger, were now littered with the remnants of defeated monsters.

The streams were calm once more, their surfaces rippling gently as if in approval.

"Not bad," I murmured, flexing my fingers. "Not bad at all."

I closed my eyes while allowing my body to be in sync with the natural cosmic energy in the surrounding. I could feel my mental exhaustion declining at a very fast pace.

"This is good" As the system prepared to transport me to the next floor, I couldn't help but wonder what new challenges awaited.

I knew the thought didn't scare me—it… thrilled me. Because now, I wasn't just surviving.

I was becoming unstoppable or so I thought?