With half his Gate World entries spent, Percival stood before the swirling vortex of the next Gate.
To the average Awakener, spending four gold on four separate Gate Worlds would appear to be the optimal strategy.
Since the quality of loot and Experience dropped after the first clear, maximizing unique entries was the standard rule of thumb to squeeze every drop of value from a dungeon.
But Percival went with a different approach.
He optimized for time.
Entering a new Gate World meant caution. It required mapping the terrain, analyzing enemy attack patterns, and checking corners for traps.
Even for a regressor, an environment lost in his memory demanded respect and time, and it would take likely two hours for a full clear.
Doing that four times would exhaust most of the day and would take longer to get to Lvl. 20.
A repeat run, however, was a different beast entirely.
It was a speedrun.
He already knew the spawn locations and the boss mechanics. He knew exactly where the Beast Sources were positioned.
He could blaze through the Gate Worlds a second time in twenty minutes flat.
Even if the system penalized him with a 10% reduction in EXP for the second entry, the fact that he could clear it three times faster than a new dungeon meant his rate of leveling was actually higher.
It was a simple calculation of velocity.
Besides, he didn't plan to spend all day in the Gate World Hall.
He had other business to tend to, such as deciding who would become his first Soul Soldier once he unlocked the Skill.
He pushed the exciting thought aside for a moment and focused on the Gate before him, pulsing with the same ominous orange light as the other Beta Gates lined up beside it.
Percival read the floating prompt.
⸢Gate World: Worm World⸥
⸢Rank: Beta⸥
⸢Description: Where the earth chews on the bones of the fallen, and the soil is made of flesh⸥
His silent eyes gleamed, reflecting a fond memory. Worm World was a favorite amongs Awakeners.
Not only was it generous with rewards, but the beasts within them were fun and interesting to kill. Especially with a party.
'…'
The fond memories vanished from Percival's eyes.
This time, he was alone.
While he analyzed the portal, down the hall, Stenya and her cohorts under the Golden Spire Guild were watching him with smug expressions.
"He's already moving to another one?" Stenya scoffed, crossing her arms.
"That was way too fast," one of her party members, a Lvl. 16 Knight said. "I thought he would stay longer but he gave up quicker than I expected."
"Who is this guy anyway, Stenya?" a Lvl. 17 Berserker laughed. "To solo run the Depths of the Drowned was suicide anyway. And as an ordinary Lvl. 15? Heh, Morace, I'm even surprised he managed to escaped."
"Why don't we go check out the logs?" a Lvl 19 Swordsman said, his voice was cooler than the others. "We could see how he really did inside the Gate World."
The Berserker cackled. "Good call, Vadrian. That way we can see just how awful he did. Kekekeke!"
They climbed up the stairs to the Beta Gates floor and headed for the Depths of the Drowned.
Once they arrived, they gathered around the crystal console where recent activities were displayed.
In unison, they leaned forward, ready to mock the failure.
⸢Recent Activity: CLEARED (Solo)⸥
⸢Clear Time: 16 Minutes⸥
⸢Challengers (1): Percival Nightstar (Necromancer)⸥
Stenya blinked. She rubbed her eyes and looked again.
"Eh… that can't be right," the Berserker muttered. "Can it?"
"Cleared?" Stenya whispered. "In sixteen minutes?"
They turned their heads once again in unison at Percival's direction on their far right.
"Look at his level," the Knight pointed, his voice losing its bravado.
The crest above Percival's shoulder glistened with the numbers: ⸢Lvl.18⸥.
"He… he was Level 15 just fifty minutes ago," Stenya stammered. "He gained three levels already? That fast?"
"That's impossible," the Berserker muttered. "Just who the hell is this guy?"
They continued to stare at him until Percival stepped into the swirling portal of Worm World.
Wind assaulted him the moment he entered. A ruthless wind, thick with the smell of wet soil and old powder.
Percival pulled his scarf over his nose. Once the map appeared, he moved forward.
With every step he took, the space around his foot exploded into dust. Everything was dry, lifeless. Even the sky had no color—a monotone ceiling of gray.
He reached the first Encounter Zone, the Fallow Fields. Almost immediately, the beast threat appeared.
The earth erupted. Giant, segmented centipedes with mandibles the size of scythes burst out from the soil.
⸢Threat: Silt Crawler⸥
⸢Level: 22⸥
There was a dozen of them.
"Soldiers!" Percival summoned.
His Skeletons rose from azure flames and immediately took their positions. The twelve Skirmishers formed a circle while the Rangers took the center.
"Hold," Percival commanded, standing in the middle of his Skeleton army formation.
A Crawler lunged at a Skirmisher. The skeleton braced, raising its gold-wrought shield to absorb the impact of the mandibles.
The shield held firm as the Crawler gnashed continuously. A C-Grade equipment was more than powerful enough to hold back a Lvl. 22 beast.
"Strike," Percival ordered.
The Skirmisher immediately thrust its Water Sword into the soft underbelly of the insect.
Eeeerrrkkk! The creature screamed loudly, falling backwards and writhing as purple blood oozed from its guts.
Then it stopped moving.
⸢Silt Crawler killed⸥
⸢+30 EXP⸥
There was silence for a while, then Percival lifted his hand and pointed at the remaining Silt Crawlers. "Attack!"
The Skeletons roared with a hunger for war.
Maintaining the position, the Skirmishers spread out in a circular pattern, while the Rangers remained, nocking their arrows from and shooting at the insects.
The Crawlers tried to meet the Skeletons head on, but Percival activated ⸢Bone Spikes⸥ at that same moment.
Sharp bones rose from the earth and stabbed through the insects, rooting them in place. Percival's Skeletons gathered around them and slaughtered the trapped, shrieking beasts.
⸢Silt Crawler defeated⸥
⸢Silt Crawler defeated⸥
⸢Silt Crawler defeated⸥
⸢Silt Crawler defeated⸥
…
⸢+180 EXP⸥
They moved deeper, into the Gallery of Mucus.
Here, the enemies were Acid-Spitting Larvae (Lvl 26).
These wretched creatures resembled oversized maggots. Their bodies were segmented and had an almost neon glow of slime within them, reeking of rotten fruit.
Percival saw a group of them clustering near a pulsating sack of eggs: the Beast Source.
He activated ⸢Grave Step⸥, vanishing in a puff of blue mist.
He reappeared directly in the middle of the cluster. A Larva turned, opening its maw to spit out acid, but Percival's sword slash was faster and its head flew into the air before the acid spat out.
⸢Acid-Spitting Larvae defeated⸥
⸢+35 EXP⸥
Percival ⸢Grave-Stepped⸥ out of the swarm and reappeared in front of his army again.
The Larvae turned their heads to find him, but before they could formulate any attack, he outstretched his hand, gathering death mana into his finger tips.
"⸢Corpse Explosion⸥"
BOOM.
First, the flying severed head detonated, then the body followed, exploding with a necrotic energy. The blast wave created an AoE that cut down the HP of the Larvae and destroyed the egg sack as well.
⸢Beast Source Destroyed⸥
⸢+100 EXP⸥
As the weakened Larvae tried to recuperate, Percival ordered his legion to attack.
They swarmed the monsters, striking exoskeletons with their Water Swords and blocking acid spits with their gold-wrought shields.
Moments later, the gallery was silent.
⸢Gallery of Mucus cleared successfully⸥
⸢Proceed to the next Encounter Zone⸥
Percival claimed his loot and tore through the dungeon, his undead legion grinding the denizens of the dry earth into paste.
They cleared the Burrow of Bane, the Digesting Tunnels and the Land of Floating Sand.
Before entering the final Encounter Zone—the Gastric Chamber—Percival inspected his level bar.
⸢Experience: 64600/67499⸥
He was a couple thousand EXP away from Lvl. 19. Killing the boss would surely get him there, and the rewards for clearing the Gate would push him closer to Lvl. 20.
Focused, he retrieved the special rock which acted as the key, and placed it into the waiting recess in the wall before him.
That wall began to shudder, sand falling from the lintel as the stone rose, revealing the cavern beyond it.
Percival stepped inside, his Skeleton Soldiers following him with more bravery.
The cavern was big enough to house a castle, pillars lined up from the door to the dark end, and the floor was littered with the indigestible remains of a civilization: armor, stone altars, and crowns.
Percival ignored all of it, his eyes locked on the center.
There, coiled around a pillar of fused bone, was the Carrion Queen.