Frozen Wasteland

A sudden burst of alarm jolted me awake. I hurried out of bed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. Afterward, I quickly changed into a tracksuit.

I looked at my backpack and thought, "Maybe I should buy a skill book ."

I picked up my backpack and took a taxi to the Hunter Association. Once there, I headed straight to the skill book shop. The skill books looked mesmerizing, almost as if they were calling out to me, urging me to learn them.

"Hello, sir. How can I assist you?" the shopkeeper inquired.

"Could you please inform me of the cost for the basic sword slash skill?"

"It will be $250,000, sir," he answered politely.

"What!?" I nearly shouted.

"Are you considering of buying it?" he asked. "No one else in the association will offer it to you at this price, sir."

"I know, but I don't have the budget to buy it," I replied, a hint of disappointment in my voice.

"No problem," he said, as another hunter arrived at the shop.

"Aren't you the one whose party got annihilated, with you coming out of the dungeon alone, with blood all over your body?" he asked, noticing me.

"Yes, that was me," I replied simply, feeling no need to provide further explanation.

The shopkeeper glanced at me, but I quickly made my way to the exit of the building.

"Why is he spreading unnecessary rumors when he himself has no clue about it.Hunters these days really have too much free time to bicker like this," I sighed.

I took a taxi to the C-rank dungeon, which was about 20 minutes away from the association. Upon arrival, I noticed there was no large crowd of hunters around the gate—only a few individuals. Additionally, there were one or two shops offering necessities such as food and other supplies.

As I approached the gate, I realized why there were so few hunters around it. The gate was glowing red, indicating that it's break was imminent.

It was neglected because inside the dungeon, as suggested by its name, the temperature was extremely low.

This dungeon comprised 16 floors. "Even though it's a C-rank dungeon, it's still dangerous at my current level and that's exactly why I'm here," I thought with a smile, considering the rewards it would bring.I entered the gate as temperature suddenly shifted.

[Congratulations! You have acquired minor cold resistance]

After walking for a while I encountered a horde of massive polar bears with big Sharp teeth and claws. I simply casted 200 [Magic Missiles] with a single thought with the help of my [Parallel mind]. As it was challenging to cast this many [Magic Missiles] simultaneously without the assistance of [Parallel Mind].

A barrage of 200 [Magic Missiles] was too overwhelming for them to withstand.

"Isn't this too easy? Why were hunters afraid of clearing this dungeon?" I said, looking at the now-dead monsters with pity.

"Who am I even pitying?" I wondered as I collected the mana stones from the dead bodies of the monsters.

On the second floor, I used my [Telekinetic Control] to crush a few monsters before eliminating the rest with [Magic Missiles]. These monsters, consisting of polar bears and arctic wolves, were no more than ants waiting to be crushed, given my "Focus" was at 600.

Level-up notifications continued to appear, but I ignored them, as I didn't feel the need to pay attention.

I cleared all the floors from the 3rd to the 14th in just two hours. "I haven't even allocated my additional stat points yet. I can only imagine how powerful I'll be once I do."

Now, standing at the entrance of the 15th floor, I decided to conquer it using a different approach. This time, I aimed to push my "Focus" to its limit within this dungeon. The floor was crawling with around 70 monsters—40 polar bears and 30 Arctic wolves.

I cast [Magic Missile] and used [Telekinetic Control] to condense it down to the size of a small bullet.

[Congratulations! You have developed a new skill. Would you like to name it?]

"Oh! Can I name it? Then its name will be 'Missilix,'" I decided, setting the new skill's name.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the C-rank skill "Missilix"]

"Am I Lady Luck's favorite child, or am I a genius?" I pondered as I examined my newly acquired C-rank skill.

While I was doing this, I kept the monsters at bay using my [Telekinetic Control].

"Now, shall I start my training?" I thought as I cast 70 [Missilix], each aimed at their heads. Each [Missilix] struck its target without making the slightest sound, and in the next moment, the lifeless bodies of the monsters fell to the ground simultaneously. The entire process, from casting to the bodies hitting the ground, took only five seconds.

[Ding! Your level has risen by 1]

I easily lifted three bears at once. When I attempted to lift five, I initially struggled, but after five seconds, I managed it effortlessly. Throughout these five seconds, numerous notifications appeared, but I ignored them, focusing solely on the final results.

I continued this process until I could lift all the monsters into the air, increasing my "Focus" to a whopping 7,760.

I then collected the mana stones and placed them in my backpack, which was now nearly full."I'm coming to get you, my precious skill book," I thought, glancing at my backpack.

"Now, with the power I have, I could even crush the boss of this dungeon," I thought as I entered the boss room.

I quickly descended to the 16th floor, the final level of the dungeon. There was a massive gate. As I opened it, before I could fully process what was happening, I saw my own body standing before me without my...HEAD!!!

[Warning: Critical!!!]

"Dammit! I should have raised my 'Senses' and 'Health' first," I thought. "I should have known that any new, powerful attack I hadn't adapted to could potentially kill me."

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Author-FoolishMe