Chapter 36: Abyss Mongering Predatory System
[Revenous Cobra: Level 14]
[Ravenous Cobra: Level 15]
Like the 11th floor, the moment they landed at the 10th, pretty much the same thing happened. Only this time, the swarm that confronted them was filled with rabid crimson-scaled king cobras, fiendish red slits, and 3 feet long.
From stats inspection alone, it was obvious these creatures had little constitution and intelligence, and most of their stats were poured towards speed and strength.
"Boss, this time I want to help!" Dio finally mustered the courage to speak to Roy. The others’ situation might be understandable — after all, their levels were already high and the need to hunt such low-level beasts was nonexistent.
But he, being constantly carried by Roy, was beginning to feel embarrassed. He contributed nothing, only to get ten percent of all beast cores. He felt like a leech.
And one had to remember he was an elite among hunters, a hunter with his own order. He couldn’t just sit around and become extra baggage — that would be too embarrassing.
His order was the Second Class Order of Predatory, and his system was the S-Rank Abyss Mongering Predatory System.
You see, all order-based systems gave perks. Like Roy, whose perk was obvious. Ashley, who had her stats double every day. Or Vera, who was granted the fearsome ability Absolute Exchange (SSS), which allowed her to convert anything she could get her hands on into something of equal value.
Dio also had perks. Not only could he gain stats from beasts by consuming their bodies — deciding whether they turned into drops or not — he also grew stronger the more he killed. The more the numbers, the stronger he became.
Seeing all this, one could understand Vera’s shock when she heard that Dio had lost to a Lord so quickly and easily.
Roy considered this for a bit before just giving Dio the go-ahead. It wasn’t like he was benefiting anything from killing these monsters or not. His aims were only the bosses — after all, only their cores were useful to him.
By now, he had hundreds of normal beast cores and hundreds of gold. He could still foresee himself acquiring more, so it was safe to say by the time he headed back, upgrading his recruits and trading with other territories wouldn’t be a problem.
Dio didn’t hesitate. All it took was a slight nod from Roy, and his tattooed figure lunged into the swarm, morphing mid-flight.
His muscles bulged and skin darkened as green crusted scales germinated from their depths. His eyes morphed into a pair of crimson reptilian slits, long concave claws stretched from his hands, and his legs arched in hinds.
Surprisingly, despite this transformation — which would have already ripped his clothes and armor to shreds by now — his orange prisoner clothes held fast, and the metallic collar around his neck widened to fit his size. His eyes blazed in fervor. Indeed, Boss is mighty!
He chanted inwardly as his claws arced through the vicious swarm, butchering through the cobras, his skin doused with blood, his crimson gaze brimming with excitement.
Vera and her nine subordinates felt chills, especially the nine. As though the master’s display wasn’t enough, the subordinate was also this fierce? They questioned in their hearts if they could willingly jump into a swarm of Level 14 and 15 beasts despite being Level 13 hunters — and the answer wasn’t pleasant.
Their eyes twitched in apprehension. Both master and subordinate were monsters. No wonder their master consistently sent invites to Dio. Previously, they had assumed it was mainly because of the dungeon location and thought nothing much of it. But now, witnessing such a fierce display before their eyes...
Their clutch on their weapons reluctantly loosened. It seemed on this floor their help wouldn’t be needed either.
And running with his brutal slaughtering spree, they quickly progressed through the dungeon. Slower than when Roy was acting, but faster than anticipated. At this rate, they might just clear a Level 30 dungeon in two days or less!
Dio stayed true to his master’s orders. Even when he was the one putting in the work, he only absorbed one in every ten. By now, he had long arrived at Level 15, an unshakable smile spread on his fearsome maw. Plus, with the massacre enhancement and the level-up enhancement, his stats had long reached the 80s.
Finally, they arrived before the floor boss. And this time, Roy didn’t act alone. He moved with Dio — a fierce combination of both an unstoppable build and an invincible firearm.
[Greater Ravenous Cobra: Level 18]
The two wasted no time in dispatching the abomination. Though its speed was the most fearsome they had encountered so far, with Roy’s near-laser aim and Dio’s relentlessness and steady hold over its tail, the beast succumbed to death.
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]
The torrent of mature ether circulated into Roy’s system, making it his home. He also seemed to have sensed something so far — the monsters’ core essence kept getting denser and denser the lower the floor.
It could be confirmed by the fact that he instantly went up by four levels despite there being the same nine-level difference with the rest.
Well, whatever. At least now he had finally entered double-digit levels. As a full Level 13, not only did his stats shoot up, his weapons all grew with him. Now the assault rifle was more deadly and fearsome than previously.
With 24 relocatable stats, he quickly assigned them towards different attributes: 5 to Strength, 5 to Agility, 5 to Constitution, and the remaining 9 to Intelligence. He still had the 100 ether unit hurdle to reach.
And like that, they plowed through the next floor also, with Dio leading the charge. Even the boss, though tough, was still handled by the master-subordinate duo. And in one leap, Roy reached Level 15 and Dio was already at Level 18.
The others just watched the duo as they progressed through, stained in blood and gore, their expressions numb. Right now, they felt no matter what these two pulled, they couldn’t be surprised anymore...