"This should be the last one."
With a swing of my halberd, I decapitated the adolescent skarridi.
I placed my hand on its corpse and activated Predation.
"Looks like I don't need to hunt anymore today."
Right after I activated Predation, I felt the skill enter its cooldown phase. In any case, I was planning to leave the dungeon anyway.
It had been a month since the last exploration I did with the Merchants, and some things had changed.
After several attempts, the Merchants managed to establish a route that didn't raise suspicion from the other factions. They also started rotating in groups so that everyone could grow, and the discovery of some artifacts had strengthened their faction.
As for the dungeon entrance, it had become an operational base, fully equipped for someone to stay there several days.
As for me, I had my ups and downs.
My strength kept increasing, but I hadn't been very lucky in finding artifacts. In fact, I had only found one ring that improved my agility, but I couldn't really complain.
As for misfortune… let's not talk about it.
No matter how careful I was, there were times when I had truly risked my life, but there wasn't much I could do.
For now, the only other person besides the man from last time to whom the rune had reacted, was my sister. It just seemed impossible to help her at the moment, especially considering that one of her wishes was to leave the archipelago.
As for my current status:
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Name: Adel
Age: 16
Race: Human...??
Grade: 1
Core: Dracoline Heart (10 → 50%)
Body: 1.55 → 2.01 (+0.1 agility)
Mind: ???
Mana: 0.90 → 1.3
Vitality: 1.1 → 1.95
Skills: Shadow Veil (Lv. 3), Predation, Scale Armor (Lv. 1), Poison Resistance (Lv. 1), Quick Step (Lv. 2 → 3), Razor Claws, Water Affinity (Lv. 1) [new]
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[Water Affinity]
[Water and its derivatives become part of you, also increasing your resistance to generated effects. The skill can be improved.]
That was the new skill I had learned a few days ago.
Even if the description was a bit vague, the effects were simple. In short, I had a deeper bond with water.
For example, I could now breathe underwater without problems, and if I had talent in magic, casting water-based spells would generate stronger effects. Unfortunately, I didn't have such talent, and even if I used runes, the effects would be weaker.
First of all, using magic through runes would drain them. Second, carving runes took time — and in a real fight, you rarely had that luxury.
Anyway, it wasn't the end of the world. I wasn't used to fighting with magic, but that didn't mean I was giving up.
On my palms I had carved two single-use runes to activate two spells: Water Ball and Water Wall.
I wanted to use more runes, but I realized that the more I added, the more pressure my body felt.
With two, I felt mild discomfort. When I tried three, I got a pounding headache. Then I tried four, and blood started pouring from my nose. I didn't bother testing five.
In any case, what had saved my life was the fact I could breathe underwater.
The day I got that skill, I was hunting a sea serpent, a Grade 1 monster. Unfortunately, the Golden Rule rune activated, and a Grade 3 monster made of tangled seaweed trapped me underwater.
I was about to suffocate when I saw the sea serpent's corpse. Using all my strength, I reached it and activated Predation. Thanks to that, I avoided dying and managed to escape.
Stretching my neck, I made my way to the entrance without much trouble. Thanks to the Merchants' constant hunting, the number of monsters on the first floor had drastically decreased, something that could have been a problem for me, but thankfully, I could also absorb reptilian monsters killed by others, so my growth rate didn't slow down. The only downside was that I had to pay for those corpses, and my savings dropped fast.
Soon, I reached the operational base near the entrance. Some ignored me, while others watched me with curiosity.
You could say my presence was known — but no one really understood my presence there. The instructions left by Erik and Alfred were to ignore me unless I approached them first.
An appreciated gesture, I won't deny it.
I crossed the portal and was instantly underwater, but I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. With my new skill, being in water or on land made little difference.
Now I could even activate Quick Step in water, swimming at incredible speed. In fact, I no longer used boats, finding them inconvenient.
"Well, maybe not completely inconvenient."
I reached the island of Viltrix in no time, emptied my boots full of water, and wrung out my clothes.
My original idea was to visit Erik and Alfred for a moment, but they were probably still in the dungeon. More than anything, I wanted to let them know I was going to take the Explorers' Trial, which was only held once every six months.
After more than a month and a half, I was about to take the first step to change the archipelago, something Erik and Alfred had been waiting for eagerly. They had been patient, but they were starting to complain about my inactivity. And while I understood their point, dealing with two sulking adults wasn't ideal.
Once I became an Explorer, built a solid reputation, and looked forward to the event that would take place in less than a month, I could begin the second part of the plan.
Anyway, thinking too much about the future made no sense. What I needed to do now was focus on the present.
I walked toward the bastion and immediately had the urge to curse, the line was incredibly long. Most people looked desperate, as if joining this faction was their last option, while others had massive egos.
Sighing in defeat, I took my place at the back. To avoid unwanted attention, I had left my halberd in the dungeon, and no Merchant was dumb enough to try stealing it, since I was the only one who used that kind of weapon.
One good thing was that the line moved fast. It seemed they had drastically increased the entry fee to limit the number of participants.
After a long wait, it was my turn. After paying, I was led to the dungeon entrance, once again welcomed by that dry and dusty air.
Besides me, there were nearly a thousand people. As people grew tired of waiting, an Explorer who seemed important arrived and addressed us.
"I'm Max, captain of the tenth squad."
His words caused murmuring. The Explorers were managed like a military organization.
Those who hadn't yet been granted access to the pantheon were recruits. Grade 0s were soldiers. Grade 1s were captains. Grade 2s were commanders. Finally, Paul, the only Grade 3, was the general.
Overblown titles for oxygen-wasters like them, but never mind.
There was no limit on the number of recruits or soldiers, but captains were limited to thirty. If someone wanted their position, they had to fight for it. Their strength was reflected by the squad they led.
For example, this Max, leader of the tenth squad, was probably pretty strong… at least among a group of nobodies.
Same thing for the commanders, never more than two. This system worked both ways. Paul reduced the risk of betrayal, having only two people capable of challenging him, while the commanders benefited from having fewer rivals.
In a way, I admired them. They created a system that not only limited most people's growth, but also made them not even try to challenge those above.
Probably one of the reasons the archipelago was one of the first territories to fall to the alien races, there was no path to victory from the start.
Just thinking that, despite the size of the archipelago, the number of awakened people was even lower than at Starlight Academy… it was so absurd, I had to stop myself from laughing. As long as these factions remained, changing the archipelago's future would be impossible.
"Silence!"
At his shout, everyone fell quiet.
"There are more than a thousand of you, but only a hundred will pass the first test. After the second one, only fifty will be chosen."
A new wave of murmurs spread, but Max didn't care.
"The first test will be to collect a mineral in an area with Grade 1 monsters. The second will be a one-on-one battle, only the winners will be accepted. Also!"
Before anyone could speak again, he added something that silenced everyone:
"You may quit, but you'll have to pay double the entry fee. Same goes for anyone who fails."
In other words, daylight robbery.
No one seemed able to protest. Many had spent all they had just for this chance. And those thinking of running away instead of facing a group of Grade 1 monsters had to abandon that idea, seeing Max standing there.
I bet many thought that if they ganged up on him, they might have a chance. But even if they succeeded, once outside, they'd have to deal with the consequences.
"You have one hour, starting now!"