【Dungeon Pioneer (Evolvable): When inside a dungeon, damage dealt to any entity is increased by 40%.】
【Praise the Dungeon (Evolvable): When inside a dungeon, your effective Luck stat will not fall below 2.】
【Dungeon's Gaze (Evolvable): When inside a dungeon, the experience points you gain are slightly increased.】
【Digestive Bacteria (Fixed): When killing an enemy inside a dungeon, there is a chance to acquire a random skill or skill fragment from that enemy.】
A series of system notifications glowing with faint golden light slowly unfolded in Greg's vision.
“It seems... even though it was ridiculously dangerous and almost cost me my life, the rewards for completing a leapfrog quest like this really do justify the risk.”
Leaning against the cold stalactite, Greg composed his racing heart and nearly depleted strength as he carefully read through the descriptions of these upgraded talents.
All three talents had advanced across the board.
The damage bonus of 【Dungeon Pioneer】 had doubled from 20% to 40%, which would prove to be a massive advantage in future dungeon combat.
【Praise the Dungeon】 raised the lower limit of his Luck stat from “no lower than 0” to “no lower than 2.” Though it appeared to be a minor numerical shift, considering Greg's base Luck on the surface was as low as -10, it meant that within a dungeon environment, the probability of him dying from a sudden, purely unlucky accident was significantly reduced—giving him at least a bare minimum safeguard.
Although the increase in experience gain from 【Dungeon's Gaze】 had a vague description, even the smallest bit of meat was still food; every little bit adds up.
As for his core talent, 【Digestive Bacteria】, it remained unchanged. After all, it was already outrageously overpowered to begin with.
The tremors and sound of falling rocks caused by the collapse finally died down completely, leaving only dust and smoke slowly settling.
Greg waited a few more minutes before cautiously standing up from behind his stalactite cover and brushing off the dust that coated his body.
Though this operation had veered off the initial plan with frequent unexpected turns, the ultimate goal had nevertheless been achieved.
The death countdown hanging over his head was finally lifted. He could temporarily breathe a sigh of relief, no longer having to live in fear every day while scheming how to defeat that damned Boss before the Chapter One storyline concluded.
Now, he finally had the energy to address other pressing matters and long-term plans.
“Mm-hmm... I didn't expect you to actually pull it off. You truly surprised me a bit.”
Nightmare's ethereal voice sounded in Greg's mind right on cue, carrying a hint of poorly concealed surprise in her tone.
Greg: “Hey! You darn Hajimi! Didn't you confidently spout pretty words before, like ‘This is merely the official first step,’ and ‘I believe in you’? Why's it turning into ‘You truly surprised me’ now? So you mean you didn't think I could win at all when you said those things, huh?!”
“Mm... well.”
Nightmare's voice sounded entirely devoid of guilt, carrying instead a natural, matter-of-fact candor:
“How should I put it? It was probably akin to... soothing pleasantries spoken to someone on their deathbed?”
“After all, the level gap between you and that spider at the time was simply too vast, making your odds of victory microscopic. Though our fates are bound together, I had to admit that a rational judgment yielded an unpromising outlook.”
“...”
Greg felt a vein throb on his temple.
“You bad cat! To think I was actually... actually a tiny bit moved by your talk about sharing life and death! Give me back the feelings I wasted back then, you bastard!”
“There, there, no need to get so agitated.”
Nightmare's voice carried a touch of amusement: “In any case, the outcome is that you succeeded, is it not? How you got there matters little. Besides...”
She paused, her tone becoming even more subtle, tinged with curiosity and teasing:
“Looking back at when we first met, you showed utter resistance toward clearing the dungeon, as if it were a one-way ticket to hell. But looking at you now... haven't you already... well, started moving on your own? And working quite hard at it, too?”
“Hey! Could you not phrase it in such a lewd and suggestive way?! You make it sound like I went through some strange corruption arc!”
Greg protested, stepping toward the massive pile of rubble at the same time.
His sharp gaze swept across the loose stones, quickly locking onto a corner reflecting a faint rainbow glow.
He bent down and carefully picked up an object from the gap between several rocks.
It was a strange gemstone roughly the size of an egg, deep dark purple all over. Inside, countless tiny facets seemed to rotate on their own, refracting a mesmerizing radiance.
The gem felt cool and smooth to the touch, containing a hidden yet majestic surge of mana fluctuations.
“Besides, you got one thing wrong.”
Greg tossed the gem slightly in his hand to feel its weight, continuing to speak to Nightmare in his mind as his tone returned to calm:
“Even now, I'm not taking the initiative or suddenly interested in clearing dungeons. I'm just... forced to do it. Simply to survive, and nothing more.”
Of course, he made no mention of the system or the quests.
This was a secret belonging solely to him, one he couldn't share with anyone, not even with the goddess who shared his fate.
Just as he had told Nightmare before—everyone has their own secrets.
Nightmare didn't pry further.
However, she didn't seem to buy Greg's claims of being forced.
Scoffing at how a fellow who fought like his life didn't matter claimed he was clearing the dungeon just to stay alive?
What a total tsundere.
Greg couldn't be bothered to squabble with this sharp-tongued cat any longer.
He composed his mind and focused his attention back on the system panel.
Aside from the talent upgrade notifications, another important change needed checking.
With a thought, he brought up his personal status panel:
【Name: Greg Sass】
【Race: Human】
【Level: LV27】
【Constitution: 6】
【Agility: 5】
【Intelligence: 7】
【Charisma: 10 (?)】
【Willpower: 6】
【Luck: 10 (Black)】
“Base stats in Constitution and Agility both went up by one point across the board. My level even jumped by six, shooting straight from LV21 to LV27...”
Greg evaluated as he looked at the numbers on the panel.
In the regular progression of the original game, this leveling speed would be terrifying.
Under the original's normal plot progression, when a player fully completed Chapter One's main storyline, their character level was usually only in the early LV20s.
Yet now, relying solely on clearing the first layer of the dungeon, his level had already soared to LV27, far outstripping normal progress.
However, thinking carefully, it made total sense.
After all, in Chapter One's normal flow, players couldn't possibly face a monster of Lady Eight-Legs' caliber, nor would they get the chance.
The experience they gained came mostly from academy tasks, daily cultivation, and relatively low-risk side events.
For someone like Greg, who forcefully challenged and successfully killed a high-level Area Lord at a low level, the experience rewards were naturally immense.
Being able to overtake normal progress in level could be considered a high return for taking high risks.
Next, he looked at the list of acquired skills.
【Acquired Skills: Whimpering LV4, Blunt Resistance LV2, Burrow LV2, Earth Magic Resistance LV2, Underwater Adaptation LV3, Water Magic Resistance LV2, Freeze Resistance LV1, Tentacle Entanglement LV1, Sowing LV2, Insubstantiality LV1】
“A bit of a pity I didn't get any of Lady Eight-Legs' skills.”
Greg stroked his chin, feeling an inevitable sense of regret in his heart.
Spider-type monsters usually possessed skills like spider silk shooting or toxins, both of which sounded very useful. Spider silk shooting in particular might even let him cosplay a certain friendly neighborhood superhero.
However, he also knew that 【Digestive Bacteria】 only had a chance to acquire skills; drops were never guaranteed.
Not getting one this time was simply average luck.
Yet his gains from this outing were by no means limited to stats and skills.
Unfurling his palm, he looked once more at the dark purple gem quietly resting in his hand, radiating an intoxicating luster.
【Fission Gem (High-Grade)】
【Effect: Splits a single-target directional magic spell without loss or upper limit into multiple identical spell instances, firing them simultaneously. (The split count and precision of control are tied to the user's mana, mental strength, and mastery of the spell.)】
Splitting without loss or upper limit...
What did this imply?
It meant that as long as his mana was sufficient and his mind could handle it, he could theoretically transform any single-target spell into a saturation barrage covering an entire area!
Although the power of each split spell instance wouldn't stack, the suppression, coverage, and hit-rate boost brought by raw numbers were beyond doubt.
Of course, with his current level, mana reserves, and degree of magic mastery, this high-grade gem couldn't display much power for the time being.
Splitting a few Water Guns or Fireballs had limited significance and might even waste mana due to imprecise control.
However, that was only for now.
If his level increased in the future, if he mastered stronger single-target offensive spells, and if he trained his proficiency in those spells higher...
When that time came, paired with this 【Fission Gem】...
Greg could almost envision the scene: a high-tier single-target destruction spell that originally required precise aiming and massive mana consumption would, under the gem's effect, turn into dozens or even a hundred equally lethal beams of light, raining across the entire battlefield like a torrential storm, leaving enemies with nowhere to hide.
And if combined with certain other gems, its tactical value and destructive force would multiply exponentially!
In short, this 【Fission Gem】 was a treasure with immense growth potential and strategic value.
It might not be useful right now, but it was absolutely a precious resource worth long-term investment while waiting for it to bear fruit.
Besides, even if he couldn't use it later, he could sell it for a high price to make a fortune.
After all, not many people were willing to go down into dungeons, so even basic gems on the market were in short supply, let alone a high-grade gem like this.
If sold, it would undoubtedly bring in a huge windfall.
So the gains he had gathered so far already left him immensely satisfied.
Rate on N.U.
