Chapter 37: Floor of Certain Doom!
[Name: Roy Vanders
Race: Human
Status: Lord (Bearer of the Order of Justice)
Territory: Tier 1
Level: 21
Strength: 46
Agility: 51
Constitution: 52
Intelligence: 65
Ether Unit: 28/130]
Roy glanced at his stats in satisfaction. They were only one floor away from the dungeon boss floor, which would also be the final floor.
They had been in this dungeon for a total of 46 hours. It might seem long, but in reality, it was an incredible feat. Spending less than two days and they were almost about to completely clear the dungeon? That meant at most they would be done within two to three days.
Even Vera and her subordinates found it hard to believe. They had concluded that clearing the earlier floors would be a breeze, but the lower floors? That they didn’t think would be easy.
But as it turned out, along with their eventual intervention and Roy’s and Dio’s efficiency in battle, they had it pretty easy. Even boss monsters couldn’t stand the collaboration of the twelve, barely lasting minutes in confrontation.
It was around Floor 7, where the monsters began reaching Level 24, that Vera and her crew began acting. And of course, they began splitting the drops from there.
And now they had just made quick work of Floor 3’s dungeon boss, and they decided to rest. The entire time they had just been blitz-clearing the floors — no time for ether recovery or rest — which they decided to get now.
They rested here because, according to Vera, the last two floors’ difficulty was incomparable to the rest. They had to be at their best to get even a chance at victory.
"Boss, the number of beast cores gained is as follows: 56 below Level 10, 637 below Level 20, 489 below Level 30," Dio diligently recited the amount of loot in possession as requested.
"I see, that will do..." Roy nodded, content. Back at his territory, he had a whole bunch of recruits — and probably more by now — whose levels were nothing to speak of. But with this much resource, he could increase their overall prowess before the arrival of the second calamity.
This entire dungeon progression so far enlightened him on a lot of things. For example, high level without experience would be ineffective in battle.
And also, he noticed the power disparity between humans and beasts. He was at Level 21, but compared to beasts of similar levels, their stats were easily double his.
After thorough contemplation, he concluded that this was nature’s way of compensating for the low intelligence and lack of ability to equip items for these creatures — which was pretty understandable. After all, with buffs given from items and humans’ high intelligence, if beasts had similar stats, killing them would be as easy as taking candy from a baby.
But now, with the power disparity, it somewhat evened the field for both parties... well, there were some exceptions to this — for example, freaks like Dio.
[Name: Dio Sanchez
Race: Human
Allegiance: Lord Roy Vanders
Level: 27
Strength: 123
Agility: 127
Constitution:
125 Intelligence: 49
Slaughter Unit: 12/98]
Compared to Roy, this guy was the real definition of a cheat — a being that gained both perks of two races: absurd stats of beasts as well as the high intelligence of humans and the ability to equip items.
This just went to show how Order bearers were built different. As of now, the guy was already the strongest among them all. Even Vera’s high-leveled crew couldn’t compare when it came to stats.
He also noticed something: instead of Ether Unit, this attribute in Dio’s stats was now called Slaughter Unit. Curious, he asked the system about it.
[Host is to be aware: the state of enlightenment doesn’t just give comprehension alone. There is a slimmer chance of getting a mutated attribute. For example, Subordinate Dio entered a state of enlightenment mid-battle and gained mutated Ether Unit.]
"What’s mutated Ether? And can any other attribute be mutated?" Roy questioned further. The reply from the system left him with more questions than answers.
[Mutated Ether is a variation of pure Ether — evolving into something greater, something more unique, something that might even be greater than mature Ether...]
[Other attributes can indeed be mutated. And like mutated Ether, mutated attributes boast greater efficiency than regular attributes. For example, the most common mutations are: Constitution into Defense, Strength into Attack, or Agility into Velocity.]
Understanding dawned on Roy. "So that’s how it works... sigh, can’t wait for an enlightenment," he mused inwardly.
He sighed. Well, things like this couldn’t be rushed. He was bound to get enlightenment sooner or later. As long as he constantly engaged in life-and-death battles, it was bound to happen.
And so, laying in a relaxing posture, he drifted into sleep. Though his stats were already inhuman, sleep was still beneficial and needed. The mental exhaustion he had been through throughout the expedition had been accumulating, so a nice nap was just what he needed now.
Hours drifted. They all made sure to take their time in gaining enough rest and full recovery on Ether. And only when everyone was ready did they finally venture into the next floor.
[Floor of Certain Doom! Warning: Host is to proceed with caution!]
Roy frowned on seeing this notification. Never through the past ten floors had he been warned like this. That meant this floor had to be absurdly dangerous.
And indeed, his conclusion was correct. Because as they all saw the monsters they would be facing, a chill ran down their spines, hair standing on end.
"Is... is this for real?" a lady among Vera’s crew stuttered uncontrollably in terror.
The others couldn’t help but take a few steps backward. Indeed, it was as she said — was this really for real? And the numbers at that...
They couldn’t help but conclude: yes, indeed, they were screwed.
As for what terrified them so much? Well, as Vera said, the last two floors would be more terrifying than the rest. And apparently, this second-to-last floor was filled with swarms of boss monsters!
Hungry, savage, high-leveled versions of the bosses they faced previously!
[Greater Shadow Viper: Level 28]
[Greater Blighting Mamba: Level 29]
[Greater Ravenous Cobra: Level 29]
[Greater Demon Boa: Level 30]
[Greater Abyssal Anaconda: Level 29]
Greater Void Constrictor: Level 30]
[Greater Toxic Boomslang: Level 29]
These and many more. Moreover, their absurd numbers... eyes twitching, they understood the true meaning of terror...