“No need. System, can you upgrade my war axe?” James muttered while equipping his war axe and longsword. He hadn’t entered combat yet, so the system still responded to him.
[Your war axe has been successfully upgraded into a lightning war axe.]
His war axe evolved into a size bigger as lightning coated its blade. James felt a newfound strength as his new war axe felt heavier.
He charged in without hesitation. The golems finally saw James, and they responded in kind. They charged in with a roar as they raised their swords.
“Wait! Don’t charge on your own!” Sanders warned James, but his words fell on deaf ears. James was a different man. He would not listen to or obey another human ever again. This time, he would make his own choices.
A golden comet shone from both the golems’ swords and James’s new lightning axe. As both comets collided, an explosion rang out, and sand was blown away by the impact. These golems were weaker than the one James had met on the third floor months ago. They had lost the skill clash and stumbled.
James didn’t waste the opportunity. Another golden comet shone from his longsword and flew upward. The golden path struck the golem from its flank and continued to its shoulder. James felt satisfaction rise within him as he saw the golem fly away from the impact and lay motionless on the sand.
Another golem charged in. A golden glow shone from its sword. James was ready—he raised his crab shield and braced for impact. However, the impact never came as Kaina stabbed it with her spear skill from the side. The golem stumbled, and its sword skill inevitably failed.
An axe skill came again from James’s axe and hit the stumbled sand golem. The skill flew into the golem’s head and shattered its body on impact. There was no need to question the system about whether the golem was dead or alive.
[Congratulations. You have earned 30 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 8.]
James raised an eyebrow at the prize money. “Hmm? That’s fewer than I thought. How many coins is this golem worth?”
[An ordinary sand golem will give you 20 coins each. The prize will be split among survivors who participated in combat.]
James frowned when he realized that Kaina had stolen 10 coins with that unnecessary spear skill. He glared at her. However, the girl in question didn’t seem to feel guilty. She even puffed her chest proudly. Seeing such behavior, James could only sigh.
“I don’t need your help.”
“Come on. It was easier, right? You shouldn’t shield yourself when an enemy uses a weapon skill. It’s dangerous,” Kaina answered.
Her words came from experience. Her teammate, Andre, survived the first floor. After leveling up some more and unlocking the shop function, he fixed his shield. However, he died when a rat soldier used its sword skill against him.
Moreover, Kouki also advised against it. She had watched how he fought ever since the first floor. He said that monsters’ stats are higher, so she should strive to deflect or redirect their weapon skills. His skills and behavior didn’t contradict those words. So, she thought that tanking weapon skills without skills was ill-advised. Kouki also advised against skill clashes too.
James didn’t bother to argue back. He knew and believed he could withstand that sword skill. That swordfish on the previous floor could use a sword skill, and he had withstood it. As long as he kept his posture stable, he should be safe. But what Kaina said was correct. If his level were lower, he might have agreed with Kaina. But now, he had the strength to repel a sword skill.
He continued forward.
“That was easier than I thought. Why am I having such a hard time against the shark…” James muttered as he ignored the trio of men and women behind him.
James thought humanoid enemies were superior due to weapon skills. However, he was wrong. To compensate, monsters usually had better stats or special skills.
James approached the Stonehenge, thinking the boss was there.
“I should have seen that coming,” James muttered as the sand trembled in the distance. Like waves encountered at sea, something swam toward him. Something huge was coming at him.
The waves of sand then burst out, revealing a humongous snake the size of a train. James winced when he saw the snake had arms and was holding a spear. Along with it, four other human-sized snakes emerged.
“We should run! We are outnumbered!” Sanders made the decision. James was about to ask them whether they could hold off the small fry by themselves, but from Sanders’s suggestion, he figured out the answer.
“Then run. I am fighting them!” James scoffed at them.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
James bit down on one crossbow bolt. His crossbow and gun were ready to shoot with a normal bolt. A golden glow shone from his crossbow as he raised it, aiming for one of the snakes charging at him.
The smaller snakes rushed in with their boss. James grinned as they all made a beeline for him. A golden meteor shot through one of them, striking its head and killing it instantly. The power of the skill enhanced the crossbow’s power immensely.
James ran to the side and loaded his crossbow with a poisoned bolt. As the enemy neared, a golden meteor struck the boss right on the shoulder. The boss shrieked as it staggered due to the poison. James was not one to save his ammo. He drew his gun and shot another smaller snake right in the head. A pop blew its head off, killing it.
“This gun is actually good,” James muttered. The mobs on this floor were usually worth 20 coins each. A bullet cost 10 coins per piece, so James netted a 10-coin surplus. It was expensive, but the guns were worth it.
“I need to kill at least one more before the boss comes to me,” James muttered. He readied his axe. However, a moment of hesitation came over him. A spear skill usually came with a thrust, and a thrust was difficult to dodge or parry with an axe. He had a shield now, so he had another option besides using his sword to parry the blow.
A golden comet shot toward him, and he shielded himself with his shield. A sharp pain shot through his wrist, and James was pushed back several meters due to the impact. However, he held on. A small amount of blood dripped from the shield, but James wasn’t such a crybaby that he would care about a light scratch. He smirked as his plan had actually worked.
“Now for payback!” A golden comet shone from his sword and bisected the small snakeman from its flank to its shoulder.
The huge snakeman finally reached James with an angry roar. Its massive size allowed it to endure James’s poison. A golden glow shone from its massive spear. This time, James wasn’t confident enough to tank its spear skill with his shield. He activated his two-hit axe skill, V-Slash.
“That’s not my way,” James muttered as he recalled how Kaina and the others dealt with monsters. James relied more on his guts.
The two comets met each other and exploded in a satisfying boom. Surprisingly, both beasts held on. This proved that James’s stats, enhanced by his golem arm, were close to the beast’s. Their weapons slid against each other as both completed their strikes.
The two beasts then clashed again as their weapons curved. James had anticipated this and met the strike head-on with his axe.
Two comets shone and met again. The shockwave from the collision sent sand and dust into the air. James immediately used his echolocation ability. The world turned monochrome as he saw the snake slither across the sand. The sound it created was perfect for James’ echolocation ability.
The snake seemed to have a similar ability to James’ echolocation as it tried to stab him through the dust. James didn’t see any golden glow, so he knew it was just a normal strike. He parried it with his sword while biting another bolt.
The blow was heavier than James had expected. He cursed as he stumbled on the unsteady sand. James readied his axe again, preparing for another skill clash.
But the strike never came. The snake roared in pain as Kaina flanked it and used her weapon skill to stab it. Sanders and Anderson could be seen in the distance, baiting the last snake mob.
“I didn’t need your help! Just go and help the other guy!” James roared as the boss snake looked at her with hatred. James immediately loaded his crossbow with the bolt from his mouth as Kaina desperately ran away from the monster. Another golden glow stabbed into its back, delivering another dose of poison.
The boss snake immediately turned back to James and prepared its skill. James met it head-on with another skill of his own. This time, James was ready. As the two skills collided, both of them curved and clashed once more.
This time, James managed to push the snake back slightly. Thanks to the poison, it had weakened. Another golden glow shone from his sword. With an upward slash, James leaped at the snake, delivering a decisive blow.
Blood gushed from its flank as the snake was thrown back due to his skill. But James didn’t relent—the enemy was still alive. With his new lightning axe, James charged in.
“You are finished!” James exclaimed as he prepared his war axe. The golden glow of his new war axe was coated with a blue streak from his lightning enchantment. The snake stumbled—despite its enormous size, it couldn’t do anything against the incoming strike. It raised its spear in desperation, but James knew better.
His axe broke through the spear like a twig, and the golden meteor embedded itself deep into its head. The snake creature let out a cry before falling motionless on the ground.
James knew the battle was not over yet. He looked around and found the three idiots still fumbling with the last mob. James loaded another arrow into his crossbow and used his crossbow skill on it, ending its life.
The system then gave out a notification.
[Congratulations. You have received 100 coins. Your Attacker class has leveled up to Level 10.]
[Would you like to modify your body? Y/N]
[Available Body Parts:]
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Snake Guardian’s Scale (Digging, Physical Resistance +5%) (Skin Slot)
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Snake Guardian’s Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters)
“Hmm? Why am I not leveling up?” James muttered. “Moreover, it’s only 100 coins?”
[Survivor James received assistance from Survivor Kaina. As a result, the EXP and coins were split.]
“But she barely did anything!” James was outraged at the new information. The three idiots were still far away, so they didn’t hear him complaining.
[It was registered as assistance. If survivors face an enemy with assistance, the EXP and coins will be split.]
“Fuck you!” James roared.
It was then that Kaina arrived.
“We won! Look, the golden portal has spawned! Let’s go! We’ve cleared this floor! Yay!”
“Wait a minute, girl. I have something to talk to you about.” James glared at Kaina.
Kaina didn’t know what she had done wrong, but from the look on James’s face, she knew she had fucked up.
[Name: James]
Age: 35
Sex: Male
Level: 41
Coins: 150
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STR: 136
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DEX: 131
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MAGIC: 86
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MANA: 880
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Novice Axe Mastery Level 4 (Powerstrike, V-slash)
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Beginner Sword Mastery Level 7 (Hurricane)
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Beginner Bow Mastery Level 7 (Quickshot)
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Beginner Dagger Mastery Level 1
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Mind Flay
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Sense Alteration
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Mana Sonar
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Attacker (Level 10) (10% bonus when attacking, STR & DEX +1 per level) (↑3)
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Goblin Stomach (Iron Guts) (Stomach Slot)
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Mana Core (Water Spells: Ice Spear, Water Manipulation, Magic +60, Mana +1000) (Extra Slot)
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Orc’s Left Arm (STR +10%) (Arm Slot)
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Eyes of Mana (Mana Sense) (Right Eye Slot)
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Golem Arm of Valhalla (STR +30%, Physical Resistance +30%, Negative Trait: Repairable, Mana -200) (Right Arm Slot)
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Ratking’s Legs (STR +25%) (Leg Slot)
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Flaming Tiger’s Fire Lung (Fire Breathing Skill, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Lung Slot)
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Golem Core (Poison Resistance, Negative Trait: Mana -250, Magic -10, Repairable) (Heart Slot)
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Orc’s Torso (Torso Slot)
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Orc’s Head (Head Slot)
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Shadow Snake Fang (Intermediate Life Leeching) (Mouth Slot)
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Jumping Spider’s Spinneret (Thread Creation) (Extra Slot 2)
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Flaming Tiger Lord’s Firefur (Fire Cloak Skill, Fire Resistance, Physical Resistance +15%, Negative Trait: Mana -100, Magic -10) (Skin Slot)
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SwordShark’s Gills (Water Breathing, Negative Trait: Waterbound Respiration) (Extra Slot 3)
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Rock Crab Shell (Physical Resistance +90%) (Extra Slot 4)
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Land Shark’s Ear (Echolocation: 10 meters) (Ear Slot)
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Leather Armor Set (+10 DEX)
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Lightning War Axe
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Longsword
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Crossbow (x12)
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Waterspout Dagger
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Mask of Identity
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Leather Bag
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Sphere of Fethusiane
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Cloak of Dark Night
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Thompson Center Contender (x2)
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Frag Grenade (x1)