【Dungeon Pioneer (Evolvable): Increases damage dealt to any entity by forty percent while inside a dungeon.】
【Praise the Dungeon (Evolvable): Your effective Luck stat will not fall below 2 while inside a dungeon.】
【Dungeon's Gaze (Evolvable): Slightly increases EXP gained while inside a dungeon.】
【Digestive Bacteria (Fixed): Chance to obtain a random skill or skill fragment from an enemy when killing them inside a dungeon.】
A series of system notifications glowing with a faint golden light unfolded slowly across Greg's vision.
“It seems... even though the process was terrifyingly perilous and I almost lost my life, the rewards for completing a leapfrog challenge mission are indeed worthy of the risk.”
Leaning against the cold stalactite, Greg calmed his racing heart and nearly exhausted stamina, carefully reading the updated talent descriptions.
All three talents had fully advanced.
The damage bonus of 【Dungeon Pioneer】 had doubled from 20% to 40%, which would serve as a massive advantage in future dungeon battles.
【Praise the Dungeon】 raised the minimum Luck threshold from "not below 0" to "not below 2." Although it seemed like a minor numerical shift, for Greg—whose base Luck on the surface was as abysmal as negative 10—it meant that in a dungeon environment, the probability of dying from pure bad luck or random freak accidents was significantly reduced, at least giving him a basic baseline of security.
While the description of the EXP boost from 【Dungeon's Gaze】 remained somewhat vague, every little bit helped, and small gains added up over time.
As for the core talent, 【Digestive Bacteria】, it remained unchanged—after all, it was already absurdly overpowered to begin with.
The vibrations and falling rock sounds caused by the collapse finally subsided completely, leaving only smoke and dust slowly settling.
Greg waited several more minutes before cautiously standing up from behind the stalactite cover, dusting off the thick layer of grime on his clothes.
Although this operation had strayed far from his initial plan and was rife with unexpected twists, he had ultimately achieved his final goal.
The death countdown hanging over his head was finally resolved. He could temporarily breathe a sigh of relief, no longer having to live in daily anxiety while calculating how to defeat that damned Boss before Chapter One's storyline came to an end.
Now, he finally had the energy to address other pressing matters or long-term plans.
“Mmh... I didn't expect you to actually pull it off. You've genuinely surprised me a little.”
Nightmare's ethereal voice echoed in Greg's mind right on cue, carrying a subtle hint of ill-concealed astonishment.
Greg snapped back, “Hey! You Hajimi! Didn't you say all those pretty words earlier, like 'This is merely the first step' and 'I believe in you'? Why has it turned into 'You've genuinely surprised me' now?! So all that talk before meant you didn't think I could win at all, didn't it?!”
“Hmm... well,” Nightmare replied, her voice completely devoid of guilt and carrying a matter-of-fact frankness. “How should I put it? It was roughly equivalent to... comforting words spoken to someone on their deathbed, meant merely as solace?”
“After all, the level gap between you and that spider was far too vast at the time, and your odds of winning were virtually nonexistent. Although our fates are tied, I had to admit that a rational assessment yielded rather bleak expectations.”
“...”
Greg felt a vein throb on his forehead.
“You bad cat! To think I was actually... actually a little bit moved by your cheesy speech about sharing life and death! Give me back the emotions I wasted on you, you bastard!”
“There, there, no need to get so agitated.”
A trace of amusement leaked into Nightmare's tone. “The point is that you succeeded, did you not? The process is irrelevant. Besides...”
She paused, her tone growing even more nuanced, carrying a touch of scrutiny and teasing:
“Thinking back to when we first met, you were utterly resistant to clearing the dungeon, as if it were a one-way ticket to hell. But looking at you now... haven't you... well, started taking the initiative yourself? And working quite hard at it, too?”
“Hey! Could you not make it sound so dirty and suggestive?! You're making it sound like I went through some bizarre corruption process!”
Greg protested aloud as he walked toward the colossal pile of rubble.
He scanned the shattered stones with a sharp gaze, quickly spotting a corner emitting a faint, iridescent glow.
He bent down and carefully retrieved an item from the crevices between several rocks.
It was a strange gemstone about the size of a hen's egg, displaying a deep, dark purple color. Its interior seemed to contain countless tiny facets self-rotating, refracting a spellbinding array of light.
Cool to the touch and smooth, it contained subtle yet immense fluctuations of mana.
“Besides, you've got one thing wrong.”
Greg tossed the gemstone lightly in his hand, gauging its weight, before continuing in his mind to Nightmare, his tone returning to composure:
“Even now, I'm not taking the initiative out of some newfound interest in clearing dungeons. I'm merely... forced to do so. In order to survive, nothing more.”
Naturally, he made no mention of the system or the missions.
That was a secret belonging solely to him, one he could never tell anyone—not even a goddess who shared his fate.
Just as he had told Nightmare before—everyone had secrets of their own.
Nightmare did not pry further.
Yet she did not seem to buy Greg's claims of being forced.
To mock a guy who acted as if he didn't care about his own life, claiming he cleared dungeons just to survive?
What a total tsundere.
Greg didn't bother arguing with the sharp-tongued cat any further.
Composing his mind, he refocused his attention on the system panel.
Apart from the talent upgrade notifications, another important change needed verification.
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)】
“My base Constitution and Agility both went up by one point. And my level jumped six levels in a row, shooting straight from LV21 to LV27...”
Greg evaluated the numbers on the panel in his mind.
This leveling speed would be considered terrifying in the standard progression of the original game.
Under normal story progression, when players finished the main storyline of Chapter One, their character level was usually only in the low 20s.
Yet here he was, having cleared only the first layer of the dungeon, and his level had already skyrocketed to LV27, leaving the standard pace far behind.
However, thinking about it carefully, it was entirely logical.
After all, in the normal Chapter One flow, players would never have had the chance or ability to face a monster of Lady Eight-Legs' caliber.
The experience they gained came primarily from academy tasks, daily training, and low-risk side events.
For someone like Greg, who forcefully challenged and successfully defeated a high-level Area Lord at a low level, the experience reward was naturally overwhelming.
Overtaking others in level could be considered a high reward matching high risk.
Next, he looked at the skill acquisition list.
【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, unable to help feeling a touch of regret.
Spider-type monsters usually possessed skills like web shooting or venom, both of which sounded highly useful—especially web shooting, which might have even let him cosplay a certain friendly neighborhood superhero.
However, he was well aware that 【Digestive Bacteria】 only conferred a chance of acquisition, not a guaranteed drop.
Failing to get a skill drop this time was just average luck.
Yet his gains this time were by no means limited to stats and skills.
Opening his palm, he looked again at the dark purple gemstone resting quietly in his hand, emitting a mesmerizing glow.
【Fission Gem (High-grade)】
【Effect: Can split a single-target directional magic spell into multiple identical instances simultaneously with zero cost and no upper limit. (The number of split instances and control precision depend on the user's mana, spiritual strength, and mastery of the spell.)】
Fission with zero loss and no upper limit...
What did that imply?
It meant that as long as his mana was sufficient and his spirit could endure it, he could theoretically turn any single-target spell into an area-of-effect barrage!
Although the power of each split spell instance would not stack, the sheer suppression, coverage, and hit-rate boost provided by raw numbers were beyond question.
Of course, given his current level, mana reserves, and spell mastery, this high-grade gem couldn't unleash its full potential just yet.
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 he leveled up in the future, mastered far more powerful single-target offensive spells, and trained their proficiency to a high level...
Then, combined with this 【Fission Gem】...
Greg could almost visualize the scene: a high-tier single-target destruction spell that originally required precise aiming and heavy consumption would, under the gem's effect, transform into dozens or even hundreds of equally lethal streams of light, raining down like a storm across the battlefield, leaving enemies with nowhere to hide.
If paired with other gems in the future, its tactical value and destructive potential would grow exponentially!
All in all, this 【Fission Gem】 was a treasure with immense growth potential and strategic value.
He might not have an immediate use for it right now, but it was definitely a precious resource worth long-term investment, waiting for the right moment to bear fruit.
Furthermore, even if he couldn't use it down the line, he could sell it for a massive fortune.
After all, not many people were willing to dive into dungeons, so even basic gems were in high demand with short supply on the market—let alone a high-grade gem like this.
If sold, it would undoubtedly net him a staggering profit.
Thus, his current gains had already left him immensely satisfied.
Rate on N.U.
