The moon shone down on Ryo, illuminating him to all the Monsters that lived in the forest. His lanky figure wasn't intimidating by itself, but the Monsters that hid themselves in the treelines had seen what he'd done before. They had watched him humiliate a group of Kobolds and, just before that, kill the Umichron that had prevented them from accessing the patch of grass that he currently occupied.
The treeline remained still, the eyes of Monsters locked onto Ryo. "I need three Goblins and fourteen Kobolds. If these guys don't come out within the next ten seconds, I'm going to start killing each and every Monster I see!" Ryo announced, unsure of whether or not Monsters could understand him.
Of course they couldn't.
Nothing moved, the air seeming to grow stale as if it was also afraid to move. Ryo looked around, noticing how still the eyes of the Monsters were, the only colour besides green amidst the forest. He sighed, preparing himself to go on an all-out assault.
He activated Boost Veins, his heartbeat rising to a consistent one-hundred and eighty beats per minute, while simultaneously activating Boost Muscles, his frame growing slightly bulkier as he felt energy pour into his body. His dagger, the Monster core reflecting the moonlight with a purple hue, glistened, as if it was awaiting the carnage.
A Monster left the treeline, but it was unlike anything Ryo had seen before. It shared a similar body to a Kobold, but its entire form appeared to be made out of a purple crystal, almost identical to a Monster Core. It made crunching noises as it walked, small bits of dust falling to the ground as it did so. "Well, what are you?" Ryo asked, not expecting an answer.
The Monster, as silent as could be, started running towards Ryo, its speed comparable to that of one of the fleshy worm Monsters from Aragoth's dungeon. Ryo moved out of the way, not seeing its arm move for an attack. A sharp pain rippled through Ryo's calf, the leather on his clothes tearing as blood poured.
Ryo quickly used healing magic to fix this up, the sounds of flesh fusing back together filling his ears. "Oh, aren't you just a lovely little Monster!" Ryo taunted, getting into an attacking stance.
He pushed his feet against the floor, sending himself flying forward with speed, meeting the gaze of the Kobold-like Monster as he moved. Ryo slashed his dagger across the Monster's chest, but he watched it dodge out of the way, its speed multitudes faster than that of any normal Kobold.
'So, it's like a Kobold, at least in shape and size, but it's a lot faster and stronger?' Ryo analysed, dodging a rapid flurry of swipes delivered by the Monster. 'Its body seems to be made out of its own core. Does that mean it's a lot weaker in terms of durability?'
Ryo decided to test his theory. He created a cage of vines, compressing it quickly to see if the Monster would shatter into a hundred pieces. The cage shuddered in the air twice, prompting Ryo to think that he had won. However, not a moment later, each vine fell apart, split in two. The Kobold had used its sharp claws to tear through the cage.
Ryo rushed forward, using his enhanced strength to deliver a rapid flurry of dagger slashes, trying to land any one attack on it without having to resort to Psychokinesis. The Kobold dodged each and every one, rotating its body to flow with each strike.
Ryo slammed his dagger forward, attempting to catch the Kobold off guard with a stab to the chest, but it ducked underneath, throwing an uppercut at Ryo's face. Ryo, by the skin of his teeth, barely avoided the attack, using his strengthened muscles to keep himself from falling over.
Ryo teleported backwards, putting room between him and the Kobold, debating on what'd be the best course of attack. The Monster didn't intend on giving him any time to breathe, however, as it quickly went in for a slash at Ryo's neck, its crystalline clawed fingers angled for a deep cut.
Ryo stared the Kobold down, freezing it in place not a metre away from him. Not out of fear, but due to Psychokinesis. Ryo, imitating what he did in the fight with the Hollowkind, imagined a pair of hands crushing the Kobold. Unlike with the roots, there was nothing for the Kobold to slash at, so Ryo kept compressing, unimpeded in his action.
A loud shatter echoed throughout the forest, akin to a glass window breaking.; Ryo watched as the Kobold fell apart, dust dropping to the floor as countless shards remained floating in mid-air, still held up by Psychokinesis.
Ryo slowly walked over, floating the shards into his hand, noting that they were a lot finer than a normal Monster Core, meaning that he couldn't use it to fulfill the quest. "I still need fourteen Kobolds and three Goblins, it seems." Ryo commented, turning to face the forest edge.
Ryo decided to use the same technique that he had employed on the Glasya-Labolas. He pushed mana into his legs, coating them with Psychokinesis to make them faster. His body flung itself into the forest, the sounds of Monster cries and inhuman screams of agony lighting up the night like an auditory firework.
Ryo cut through two Goblins, one after the other, his dagger moving through their necks as if they were made of paper. He grabbed the Monster Cores as he went, pocketing them with his left hand as his right hand did all the work.
Next came two Kobolds, a Slime, and a Wolf. Each taken care of with one strong, quickly-timed slash. This speed felt exhilarating, but Ryo knew that he couldn't keep it up for long, as it drained a lot more mana than he was used to. Sure, Manabound gave him a plethora of freedom to use spells, but trying that Echo Of Nothingness spell had taught him that going too far could get him killed.
Ryo met a band of Kobolds, seven in number, surrounding a single Goblin, and he dispatched each one with a quick swipe, barely giving them time to panic. A quick death was more merciful anyways.
Ryo rushed forwards, slashing through three Slimes, two Wolves, five Kobolds and three more Goblins. Each of them met their end to his dagger, but something felt… off to Ryo. He was used to having Monsters be a bigger threat. However, nothing compared to that bronze Goblin in Aragoth's dungeon. He took down a Umichron singlehandedly, as well as a Glasya-Labolas, a Monster he had never heard of before.
Ryo teleported back down to the Dungeon Core, as he figured he should call it, his pockets heavy with small-enough cores. Twenty-seven, to be precise. Fourteen Kobolds, six Goblins, four Slimes and three Wolves. He flipped through the almanac that sat on the now-familiar desk, the pulsating wood now as natural as anything else here, landing on the "Challenges/Offering" section.
[Kill Three Goblins And Embed The Monster Cores Into The Dungeon Core]
{Progress: 0/3}
[Reward: 2 DP]
[Loan Out Books To Two Different People]
{Progress: 1/2}
[Reward: 1 DP]
[Kill One Intruder (First Time)]
{Progress: 0/1}
[Reward: 30 DP]
[Kill Fourteen Kobolds And Embed The Monster Cores Into The Dungeon Core]
{Progress: 0/14}
[Reward: 10 DP]
Without any hesitation, Ryo quickly shoved three of his Goblin Cores into the pulsing blue Dungeon Core, a small, thin light emanating with each one. He quickly followed it up with all of his Kobold cores, pushing them all in at once.
[Kill Three Goblins And Embed The Monster Cores Into The Dungeon Core]
{Progress: 3/3}
[Reward: 2 DP]
[Kill Fourteen Kobolds And Embed The Monster Cores Into The Dungeon Core]
{Progress: 14/14}
[Reward: 10 DP]
Ryo saw the same little notification appear in his peripheral vision, this time with a different message. 'I can never get used to these.' Ryo commented to himself. They weren't natural, and nothing else like it existed in the Human country.
[You have obtained 2 DP!]
[You have obtained 10 DP!]
[You now have: 44 DP]
[New Quests Generating]
[Loan Out Books To Two Different People]
{Progress: 1/2}
[Reward: 1 DP]
[Kill One Intruder (First Time)]
{Progress: 0/1}
[Reward: 30 DP]
[Purchase The Upgrade {Polyglot Signs} {NEW}]
{Progress: 0/1}
[Reward: 10 DP]
[Loan Out Books To Four Different People {NEW}]
{Progress: 0/4}
[Reward: 5 DP]
Ryo looked at the new quests, noticing how one was of the same type as another. 'I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I completed two quests of the same type.' Ryo admitted, flipping back to the "Upgrades" section, as he had skipped past it earlier.
{UPGRADES}
{Polyglot Signs - 15 DP}
[This upgrade fundamentally changes some of the properties of your dungeon. It creates signs that designate different sections of the library which can be read in every language. This does not work if the reader is illiterate. These signs can be moved around at will.]
{Improved Indexing - 3 DP}
[This upgrade is for people who don't wish to use mana, particularly Mental magic, to organise their books. Simply snap your fingers, and the books will be organised in the most efficient fashion.]
{Eternal Flame Lamps - 25 DP}
[This upgrade fundamentally changes some of the properties of your dungeon. It creates lamps that possess eternally-living flames, ignited with a clap of the hands. If you want them on, clap. If you want them off, clap again. This system is capable of distinguishing whether or not your intent is to affect the lights with a clap.]
"Three upgrades appear at a time." The previous owner told him. "Same as with the challenges, you can't get new upgrades until you decide to purchase some of those. I was, honestly, kind of stingy, so I didn't have any of them purchased beforehand. I did everything manually, you see."
Ryo nodded, looking at Polyglot Signs. 'Sure, that'll be useful later, but I lose five DP if I buy it now, and DP is kind of an important resource right now. Plus, nothing is stopping me from just completing other challenges.'
He swapped back to the Compendium, looking at his new, completed list.
{Summonable Monsters}
{Your DP - 44}
- Goblin - 80% Normal, 20% Glittery - 3 DP
– 50% Bronze, 30% Silver, 10% Gold, 5% Red, 3% Blue, 2% Black
- Glasya-Labolas - 70 DP
- Glasya - 20 DP
- Labolas - 20 DP
- Walleye - 5 DP
- Kobold - 2 DP
- 0.2% Crystallised
- Wolf - 2 DP
- Slime - 1 DP
- 20% Fire, 20% Water, 20% Nature, 20% Lightning, 10% Healing, 10% Shadow
- Umichron - 30 DP
- Achron - 1 DP
– 50% Horned, 50% Not Horned
- Hollowkind - 450 DP
Ryo took a look at his options. He could summon a Glasya and a Labolas separately, and have four DP left over, but he figured that, considering the thirty DP increase, it'd be a lot more beneficial for him to save his DP. Slimes could also be a worthwhile purchase, or maybe Goblins? After all, a twenty percent chance to roll a glittery one means that, with fifteen DP, he'd be nearly guaranteed a Bronze Goblin.
'Fuck it, I'll never buy anything until I get the Hollowkind at this pace.' Ryo told himself, trying to summon a Goblin, but, having not done it before, he didn't know how to actually summon anything. The previous owner cackled hard, knowing what Ryo was thinking.
"Just place your finger on the page. The magic that goes through your hand will begin the process." The previous owner told him, prompting Ryo to do just that. Five finger taps hit the Goblin description, acting as if he pressed a button.
[You have spent 3 DP!] {x5}
Ryo watched as five different creatures made of pure light began forming in front of him, prompting him to step back and watch. Similar to how Inquisax summoned himself to the library, these creatures released blinding shots of light, as if they were miniature suns, destined to pierce his pupils and fry his retinas.
Ryo covered his eyes with his hands, excited to see what came of this. Slowly, the lights died down, and Ryo quickly looked at each and every Goblin, in the order that they were formed.
"Yellow with regular skin, Bronze with glittery skin, Green with regular skin, Blue with glittery skin, and Purple with regular skin…" Ryo noted, stopping suddenly.
"Wait, Blue with glittery skin?!"