Chương 27

We had expected that focusing on killing alphas would be, for lack of a better word, an incredible alpha. And for those not clear with the terminology, that just means a great return on investment. But the reality was much different. We had spent the last five hours hunting alphas and coming up short. Now the groups of monsters roamed in groups of four. But even if King Pussycat could easily kill them with a swipe of his claws, they were too low-level. They were weak.

And the only person who had gained three levels was Alice, who went from level six to level nine. Without shooting one single projectile from her pistols. We found a small haven and went there, since we lacked a better plan. Nobody having gained any levels meant that tonight we would be too weak. And it was already about 3 p. m., as I checked on my wristwatch while crossing the gate. This haven was extremely small, like the first one we had found. And it seemed to be empty.

So we each went for the bathroom, and we would reconvene at the end. While pondering the next moves sitting on the toilet — which is where my best thinking happened — I reviewed the most important finding of the day so far. While fighting George, the Sphere of Intuition had shown me the trajectory of where the mana would go. I hadn't used it extensively enough to say whether it was able to do the same with physical blows. But for now, I was sure that if I focused on it, I was able to see where spells would land.

I was still in the damn process of finding out what the Sphere of Intuition did. Yet, despite the incredible power of this mysterious skill, we were all behind on our plan. If we had leveled up several times, the attribute difference would make our survival much more likely. And most importantly, if I personally leveled up, King Pussycat's levels would match mine. If I reached level 20 before the end of the day, I would be able to let King Pussycat use his full power.

Now, instead, it was still nerfed because of me. There was one thing that kept bothering me about Alice. I had initially thought that Father Okonkwo's treatment of her was very weird, since she had been one of the main warriors during the war. But how had she gained three levels just like this? How had she gotten so much experience from monsters and alphas, when in reality she should have already been at the same level as us — if not higher — after fighting an entire night against so many zombies?

Was I remembering incorrectly that zombies gave a decent amount of experience? I was very confused. Were those zombies so low-level that nobody had gotten a good level-up from them? I had forgotten to ask these questions during our stay at the Holy City, since they didn't really seem proper, and everybody there had a bone to pick with us. But now I was regretting not having done something like that. However, I had just finished my business, and it was time to go take care of our quest.

I went into the inn, and I found everybody waiting for me there, looking at me a little weirdly.

"What?" I asked.

"You weren't there for, like, twenty minutes. Did you just take a shower?"

"It's… Whatever, guys. The food here is a little…" I saw Mateus look at me with narrowed eyes.

"It's great. The food is great." I remembered Bluemont saying that Mateus would probably kill all of us in the blink of an eye. And then I sat at the table. Bluemont had been, in theory, gathering information. So that's the first thing I asked him.

"Do you have anything we can use? Any new info that could come in handy? We really need something. We thought we would be leveling up, but the levels are clearly not coming."

"The dungeon experience reward is different at every run of the dungeon. It appears that this time it is not a linear falloff, but exponential. Do you know what that means?"

"Yeah, we know." Lucas groaned.

"So we're fucked."

"Well, you still have a strong will to assault, and you don't necessarily need levels. You weren't going to face an army head-on, were you?" We all looked at each other, not sure of what the answer was.

"The answer is no," Bluemont snapped. He was weirdly sober today.

"Of course, the answer is fucking no," he added.

"And now, show me what you got. As your guide, I am allowed to help you strategize." I put the Magical C4, the Pyrotechnic Kit, the Excellent Staff of Amon, and the health, clarity, and stamina potions all on the table. Then I slowly took out the Skill Evolution Voucher as well. When Bluemont saw that, his eyes went wide.

"Kid, have you been blowing the System AI?" He held the voucher up to his eyes.

"I can't believe you got this on the first damn floor. How much high-rank equipment is this damn dungeon handing out? Usually, this shit doesn't appear before the sixth floor. This is gonna be the most-watched damn livestream of all time, with the kind of loot that's being distributed." Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

"Yeah. All right. Listen, that's all great, but what are we gonna do?"

"Well, what about you guys? What do you have?" They all took out a few potions, and that was it. It appeared that only I had gotten all the weird items — and I had not yet told them about the Exclusive Recorder. I was extremely paranoid about it being found out by the elf before I could use it against him. Alice looked at my items with so much envy that it was palpable in the air.

"Didn't you get some good rewards from the siege?" I asked the woman. She just glared at me.

"What? Dude, I really don't understand what's the deal with you. How come—" I stopped and tried again.

"Didn't you get, like, more experience? This is so weird. Can you say something?"

"Yeah, it's a little odd," Hailey commented. Bluemont looked at the scene and clearly wanted to say something. But through the Sphere of Intuition — which I had just activated, to see if I could glean something from it — I saw his skin suddenly redden. Okay, that's weird, I thought. There is some secret here, and I'm not liking it at all.

"All right," Bluemont said.

"Someone needs to carry this staff out of their inventory. This is the most powerful item you guys have, bar none. A Corpse Explosion skill against the undead? Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"We can make the undead explode?" Hailey asked.

"Ding, ding, ding, kid. You got it. So, first of all, one of the two casters should take the Excellent Staff of Amon. This thing not having any requirements is nuts. You clearly don't understand what kind of item this is. And yes, you can hate the undead — as you should — but do not avoid such a weapon out of some stupid fear. This is going to be your main weapon." Tina spoke first.

"It kind of makes me nervous. I— What if I turn into a zombie or something if I use it?" Bluemont was clearly about to shout, judging from the giant vein that appeared on his neck. But then Hailey said, in a soft voice, "I'll take it."

"Hailey, are you sure?" Marcus asked.

"Isn't this the thing that said it's a bound item? And the — the damn destroyer-of-humanity thing?"

"It doesn't matter. It's just a weapon. What matters is how you use it."

"Hell yeah," Lucas commented.

"You go, Hailey. Tell him." Hailey slowly took the Excellent Staff of Amon. And suddenly, a small idea hatched in my mind about the staff, and how to use it.

"Bluemont, this C4 is an explosive. Do you think the dungeon is trying to tell us that we shouldn't go at the fortress directly, and we should just, like, try to blow it up?" Bluemont looked at me, and he said, very slowly, "The dungeon…" He trailed off, and then resumed.

"I cannot comment on the intentions of the System. Not extensively. Of course, I can tell you — just as the elf bastard said — the dungeon always has a design for everything. But I cannot infer the design out of my previous experience. That is dangerous territory." But then I caught the slightest nod from Bluemont, thanks to the Sphere of Intuition. I didn't know if it was a tic — if he had even done it on purpose — but I had clearly seen a nod.

"All right," I said, scratching at my growing beard.

"So how about this? Hailey, hold on to that." And I took the box of the Pyrotechnic Kit and handed it to Marcus.

"Marcus, do you have space to carry this?" Marcus had a sort of backpack on his back that the crafters had made.

"Sure," he said. The Magical C4 I kept in my inventory. I didn't think I could carry it around without blowing myself up, and it was way too heavy anyway. Then I put the Skill Evolution Voucher and the large health vials inside my armor, where they were firmly held.

"Miss Hailey." King Pussycat suddenly spoke, after having joined us from an entrance on the back — meant for giant creatures, apparently.

"I must praise your courage. You are a wonderful warrior. And to dabble in the filth for such an honorable cause is nothing short of heroic."

"Thanks, King Pussycat." Hailey smiled, clutching the Staff of Amon. After a few more rounds of talk, and eating something, we went out.

"So, guys, we're going to the stronghold right now." Everybody nodded. And we jumped on the saddle again. The arrow from the quest — which could now be summoned at will — brought us to a patch of discolored grass. The yellow prairie slowly became gray and black. It almost looked like the entire prairie here had started rotting.

"Subtle," I commented to the sky.

"Next time, give it a little twist."

"Are you talking to the tutorial?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah. I think it listens." My co-workers gave me some weird glances, and I raised my hands.

"You'll see." We started making our way forward through these dead lands when something suddenly gave me pause. Holy shit. Is that a zombie hyena? The answer came almost immediately. Wild Zombie Hyena - Level 10 Fuck. Why is it level 10? I swore. The living ones had barely scraped level 7. It was missing half of its face, and the lower right part of its jaw was all mangled, barely kept together by sinew and unholy prayers. But the strangest part was the body. The thing was bloated. Fat.

Its belly hung swollen and tight like an overfilled waterskin, the hide stretched so hard it had split along the ribs, and it didn't so much walk as haul itself toward us, one lurch at a time. I looked at it through the Sphere of Intuition, and I almost gagged. Inside, the thing was dense. Packed. Rotting mana sat coiled in that swollen belly, layer on layer, pressed together like something had been feeding it and feeding it with nowhere left for it to go.

Next to it, the living alphas we'd been killing all day would have read like empty bottles. The monster lunged at us — slow, lopsided, almost sad. King Pussycat didn't even break stride. One paw, and the thing exploded on the spot.

"Shit," I muttered. Then I heard a ping in my head as the battle ended. Wait. Did I just level up?