"I hope you will do well."
"Don't worry, those monsters aren't a problem for me. I'll wipe them out before they even know what hit them."
He too stepped in and the count began.
Dungeon
The dungeon was dark, humid and rocky more like any ordinary cave – a tunnel to be precise with its dome roof and cracks in the walls.
Cascading drops of water from the ceiling tampered with the serene silence amid.
The view of broken bones and shattered skeletons scattered all about.
Stalactites and stalagmites piercing every corner.
Even the air seemed slightly complemented by the scent of blood.
'Blood!'
He could hear the shrill and loud screams of some who had found unfortunate fates.
[Welcome to Hell rank dungeon– Oblivion]
[Mission: Survive for 12 hours]
[Reward: Pending…]
He immediately kept his guard up.
Skeletons and goblins arose from the ground.
From a distance he summoned cross bows without hesitation and arched it through every single skull with pin-point precision and in a trice all vanished with a subtle green glow.
More trooped in and even more from the opposite direction.
Unfazed, he rapidly fired an even more numerous release in both directions.
This time, they proved less effective and only managed to stop a few of them.
'Level 2, already,' he marvelled.
For every creation, he required about 1% of his mana reservoir.
Quickly reasoning, he figured that the arrows weren't gonna cut it.
The monsters were drawing even closer.
'Close combat it is.'
He dashed forward across the tunnelled cave, forged a silvery sword ahead and speedily grabbed it with unrelenting acceleration.
With the might of both his arms, he dug his feet deep into the ground and heavily swung his sword across their mid sections, notably lengthening his blade.
The ones behind were not too far off – faster than he had anticipated.
They were close. Too close for another swing.
'You want some of these?'
He conjured massive arrows and bullets which hovered timely above him.
With the swift signal from his arms, they launched, dashing through the marrow of every cadaver.
Bone fragments and cores were littered everywhere.
But the heat still wasn't done.
More and more came, over whelming him with their immeasurable numbers.
The ones nearer to him, he aided with a few whip lashes and diving spears.
They encroached the more and crowded around him.
He waited till they were near, near enough before he could do this.
He bellowed with a deep howl and erupted and massive release of daggers and slahes which diverged in every direction killing off the immediate threat.
After the attack, he was a bit weary and panted heavily.
That strike alone used up 50% of his mana but lucky for him, he had a sea of cores to rightly compensate his mana before the next wave of monsters arrives.
He walked towards the carnage.
Shattered bones were subliming into nothing leaving behind precious cores, armoury and flimsy weaponry.
'They are quite a lot of them. All the better for me.'
He picked up one and began absorbing.
[Magical Ingest Denied]
[Core Absorption Rejection]
[Attribute: Incompatibility with ability]
[Punishment mode]
"Arghh!!", he groaned as the system induced an immense volt of electricity through him launching him to the adjacent cave wall.
His breath became even heavier after the shock as smoke and the scent of a trifle roasted organs complemented the dew.
His brows furrowed at the sight of the notification as he brushed off the dust and rock particles on him.
'No cores! How am I supposed to restore mana!?'
[Mana Recovery Protocol (MPR): 1 Fraction per minute]
[2%...>>3%...]
He sighed.
At this rate, he would need to wait for at least one and half hours to fully recharge.
'Well if I can't use these at least I could sell 'em.'
Level 2 cores weren't so valuable but in this number could suffice for at least a weapon, let's say a brass dagger at best.
He looked at his status once moreas he waited for his mana to restore to a certain degree.
Name: Max Fentanyl
–Class: Phantom
–Bloodline: Fentanyl (hybrid)
–Type: none
–Soul: 10
–Constitution: 7.1
–Element: _
–Ability: Anti-magic
–Points: 0 | HPR: 1Fr/min | MPR: 1Fr/min
–System-based skill: Insight
–Skill set: Empty
System Store(Inventory) – Empty
Flaw: Skill regressed magic usage
Not a single digit had moved except his constitution by 0.1 which without say was a very diminutive boost.
He wasn't at all pleased by the development. Despite the 12 hour training in the arena and the mass massacre, he was still a level 1 ability user.
And without cores, the journey would be even slower.
In the midst of his frustration, the thought dawned on him:
He was weak.
At this stage all he could do was absorb attacks and fight back limitedly.
He needed to get stronger and fast.
He needed a better way of levelling up, if not he might not make it out of the dungeon.
Blast!
[Damage space: 3/10]
A fireball shot him unaware.
Another wave of monster had already flooded in unnoticed.
They weren't as numerous as the last but they had a few level 3 goblins but still mostly flame-headed skeletons.
Blast! Blast! Blast!
[Damage space: 6/10]
They gave him no time for recovery.
He attempted avoiding them bit their rapid fire left him with no chance to manoeuvre through.
They were just too many.
His MPR had barely restored enough mana to at least defend himself.
Blast! Blast! Blast!
[Damage Space: 9/10]
His damage space was running out.
He more intently attempted to evade the attacks with sheer agility and still zero defense.
He truimphed but for some seconds till…
Blast!
[Damage Space: 10/10]
The attack dragged him through the muddy ground and brought him to his knees.
He stared at the notification.
His absorption shield was gone.
He was done for if another hit him.
While on the ground, another…
Against a number of monsters right before him there was not enough time for a dodge.
Instinctively, he raised his arm shielding his face from the blow.
Blast!