Chapter 41: Necessary Preparations

BADDDUUUMM!

BADDDUUUMM!

BADDDUUUMM!

At this very moment, the Gabriel's heart is beating rapidly and fervently, as if racing a marathon. His chest heaves up and down with each breath, and his breathing becomes a little bit forced, as if struggling to keep up with the pace of his heart. His face is flushed, and his muscles tense up as he tries to maintain his composure, due to excitement.

After the recent upgrade of the shield's rank, a noticeable change could be observed in its appearance.

The shield, which already had a majestic look, seemed to have become even more impressive.

Although the faded rune on the shield had not yet been awakened, there was a subtle improvement in its visibility.

The intricate design of the shield now appeared to be more refined, and the metallic surface seemed to gleam with an even brighter shine.

Overall, the upgrade had made the shield even more formidable and impressive, and its protective power was likely to have been enhanced as well.

With unwavering determination, he swiftly grabbed the shield and equipped it with his other gear, ensuring his readiness for the unknown dangers that lay ahead in the mysterious realm he was planning to enter.

This dungeon, he believed, was of a higher rank than the one he had previously braved during his assessment, but he was willing to take the risk for the sake of maximizing his gains.

With his shield and equipment combined, he felt confident in his ability to survive whatever challenges awaited him within the depths of the dungeon.

He looked at himself in the mirror and felt a sense of contentment with his appearance, confident in his looks.

As he was about to glance at his status panel, a sudden thought occurred to him - he remembered the limit-breaking pill provided by the academy. With a sense of determination, he quickly retrieved the pill from his pocket and swallowed it down. Almost immediately, he felt a lightness in his body and mind, as though his senses had been heightened and his focus sharpened.

BOOOM!

As he pushed himself to the limit, he suddenly felt an intense explosion inside his body. In that moment, he knew that he had reached the breaking point that the principal had mentioned. All the experience points he had accumulated up until that moment were now overflowing throughout his body, propelling him forward towards a breakthrough. It was a powerful sensation, one that he knew he would never forget.

Upon experiencing this event, he noticed an unusual phenomenon - a thick, black substance oozing out of his pores and forming a layer on the surface of his skin. The smell emanating from this substance was quite strong and unpleasant, indicative of the impurities that had accumulated within his body over time. This discharge was a visible and tangible representation of the toxins and other harmful elements that his body had purged as a result of his breakthrough.

He took a deep breath in, filling his lungs with the fresh air around him, and exhaled slowly, feeling the tension in his body ease away with each passing moment.

He then looked at his status panel.

[Name: Gabriel Heart]

[Class: Cleric]

[Level: 10, Bronze Early Stage]

[Health Point: 4,420/4,420(+1768)]

[Mana: 4,220/4,220]

[Experience: 7,321/300,000]

[Magic Attack: {314(+250)} (↑112) – {352(+290)} (↑128)] 

[Defense: 553(+35)]

[Attributes: STR: 25, AGI: 21, DEX: 41, INT: 83(+35), VIT: 63(+65)]

[Skills:

Light Hurricane Level 10

Healing Totem Level 10

Goddess Blessing Level 1]

[Totem skills:

Tail Wind

Blessing of the Ocean ]

[Talent: [☯] Yin-Yang Soul Harmony (D)]

[Harmony Essence: 162,600]

[Equipment: Survival Staff, Survivals Robe, Survival Boots, Survival Mitten, Survival Mitra, Crimson Shield

Equipment Effect:

+100% Healing 

+40% Max HP

+300HP

+200Mana

+50% Mana Regeneration

+20% MATK

+20% Cooldown

+35 Defense

+25% Damage Reduction]

After carefully examining his status panel, he couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction. He had finally achieved a breakthrough from the Iron stage to the bronze stage, a feat that he had been working hard towards since entering the assessment. As a result of the intense fighting and the cleansing of impurities, his attribute points had increased significantly by 15 points each. This meant that he was now stronger, faster, and more agile than before.

But that wasn't all. He had also acquired a new shield, through upgrading it to higher rank, the shield provided him with an additional layer of protection. This had resulted in a significant increase in his defense, with at least 190 points added to his overall defense rating. With this new shield, he was now better equipped to handle even the toughest of opponents.

Moreover, the shield also provided an additional damage reduction of 25%, which meant that any attack that came his way would be significantly weakened, making it easier for him to counter. All in all, he was extremely happy with his progress and felt more confident than ever before, ready to take on any challenge that came his way.

"I can't wait to test my new strength." Urgency was evident on his face as he anticipated the opponents he would face during his dungeon dive tomorrow.

...

Early in the morning the next day.

As the sun began to rise, Gabriel stirred from his sleep, his mind still racing with the events of the previous day. He took a deep breath and focused on clearing his mind of any distracting thoughts. With a determined look on his face, he began to formulate his plans for the future.

After a few minutes of contemplation, Gabriel got up from his bed and walked over to his desk. He switched on his computer and eagerly began searching for any mysterious realms that he could explore. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he scoured the internet for any information on otherworldly places that he could visit.

Gabriel was busy finding the perfect dungeon to enter. As he scoured the internet, he stumbled upon numerous options, but he didn't want to make any hasty decisions. He wanted to make sure that he found the right one, so he took his time filtering through all the information and further narrowing his search.

His ultimate goal was to find a dungeon that was filled with lots of bronze stage monsters, with some possible silver stage ones thrown in as well. This was because his requirements for gaining experience were quite high and he was determined to level up quickly. He knew that to do so, he had no choice but to kill monsters with a much higher rank than was normally required for his level. Therefore, he was very selective in his search, ensuring that he found the perfect dungeon that would help him achieve his goal.

Gabriel had been searching for a suitable dungeon to explore for quite some time. After a couple of minutes of searching the internet, he finally stumbled upon one that seemed perfect for him. He had read that this dungeon was one of the deadliest and most mysterious realms available in Reid City. It piqued his interest immediately as he was always on the lookout for a new challenge.

However, this dungeon was not for the faint-hearted. It was so dangerous that anyone who wished to enter had to undergo a final interview to prove that they were capable of venturing into this realm. Gabriel knew that he had to prepare himself well before even thinking about applying for entry.

One of the reasons Gabriel chose this dungeon was that the beast inside could provide him with the materials that his parents needed for their class advancement. He was determined to find the necessary materials to help his parents achieve their goals.

This Mysterious Realm was home to mostly undead monsters, every type of undead monster you can think of can be found here (zombie, skeleton, wraiths, ghouls, skeleton knights and more), except for the more ancient ones. Gabriel knew that he had to be well-prepared to face these creatures. He had to review his skills and equipment to ensure his success in his conquest.

Since this dungeon consisted mostly of undead creatures, Gabriel's skillset was a perfect counter for this kind of opponent. One of the skills he had right now was a light element without using his talent and mutating his skills.

Gabriel's skill [Light Hurricane] had a hidden attribute. When he cast it in the presence of an undead-type opponent, they would receive 75% more damage than the usual damage his opponent takes since the elements opposed each other. This skill would be very useful in this dungeon.

However, Gabriel was unsure whether his mutated skill [Curse Totem (☯️)] could deal a lot of damage to the undead. Technically, just by the name of the skill, it was of the Darkness element. He pondered for a little while and activated his talent [Yin-Soul-Harmony] to check the skill's description. He read and found out that the reverse healing was a "True Damage."

He clicked on the word "true damage," and another description appeared before him.

[True damage: a type of damage that isn't an element. It's the "non-element" used by only a few skills. It ignores Defense, it cannot be resisted, nor can it be strong against anything or weak against anything, and it cannot be evaded.]

Gabriel sighed in relief since his most powerful skill could still be used inside this realm. However, he knew that he needed to improve his skill set to face the challenges ahead. "I should find some AOE light elemental damage skill in the future, I should also get some skill that increases resistances, I also need to ...," Gabriel kept muttering to himself.

Although he had many needs right now, he was hit by the reality that he did not have any of those skills right now.

Gabriel had been contemplating for hours about whether he should enter the mysterious realm of the undead-type creatures. He had researched and prepared himself as much as he could. Finally, he decided to enter.

After making his decision, Gabriel began to frantically prepare all the necessary documents required to enter the realm. He wanted to ensure that he had everything in order and that there would be no issues or delays.

Once he was done preparing the documents, he quickly sent them off. He was eager to receive approval and begin his journey into the unknown.

A couple of minutes later, Gabriel received an email notification from his computer. As he read the reply from the city officials, he was shocked but mostly puzzled. The email contained unexpected information that he had not anticipated. Gabriel knew he had to carefully consider his next steps before proceeding.