Iron Star 2

[You have killed an Iron Grade-Iron Star 4, Clip Claw Spider (35%): You gained 2.44 XP]

Lucas glanced at the experience points he got by helping them kill the Clip Claw Spider. Even though he did most of the damage and was the one who killed the beast, he still only received 35% of the whole contribution percentage.

Receiving only 2.44 XP out of it instead of the usual 6.96, Lucas was nevertheless sad.

And for someone like Lucas, every bit of experience points was as valuable as gold.

Anyway, he did not regret his actions one bit as he looked at the relieved smile of the 'seniors' he had just helped.

"Thank you for the help, senior. If not for you, it would have been impossible for us to defeat the Clip Claw Spider," one of them stated with a gratified voice.

'Senior?'

Lucas thought for a moment before he realized why he addressed him that way.

From the looks of it, they were clearly third years, and at the bottom of the chain at it.

For them, there was no way a newly awakened second year could already defeat a Clip Claw Spider, and the one who helped them kill it was not familiar to them, so it could only be a senior whom they had never met before.

Since they misunderstood, Lucas did not think too much about it and did not correct their assumption.

This should be the only time that they would interact anyway.

Lucas nodded his head and did not say anything before he turned around and left.

Providing help was already the best thing he could do. There was no point in lingering around anymore, as it does not bring him any benefit.

"What's your name, senior?"

Hearing that, Lucas merely waved his hand without looking back. The Gentle Dog, in Hellhound Manifestation form, walked beside him leisurely.

The silent wave made the 'senior' students look at each other in confusion.

…

Adapting to the Clip Claw Spider, Spot was now able to kill one in a short period of time.

With their efficiency increasing, Lucas glanced at his profile page and was satisfied after seeing his experience points.

[Name: Lucas Valen

Age: 17

Grimoire Grade: Unranked

Rank: Iron Star 1 (144.15/150 XP)

Spiritual Energy: 12/53

Beasts: Gentle Dog]

Only another kill more, and he would finally advance to Iron Star 2 summoner.

His degree of advancement may seem fast, but it was nothing compared to the effort he put in to hunt numerous Clip Claw Spiders just to advance one star rank.

With the same kill count, even an Iron-grade grimoire summoner could have already reached Iron Star 4, or even above by now; how much more if they have a higher-grade grimoire?

Sighing at his own situation, Lucas found a spot and started to recover some Spiritual Energy once more.

A habit he had formed was to always maintain at least one more summoning chance before each battle occurred for safety purposes.

Each minute of meditation allowed him to recover 0.5 of Spiritual Energy. Within twenty minutes, his Spiritual Energy once again rose to twenty-two, allowing him to summon the Gentle Dog for two consecutive times if he wanted to.

Summoning the Gentle Dog, Spot, once again, Lucas set foot to find another Clip Claw Spider and reach the Iron Star 2 summoner.

With how big and wide the White Stone Cliff was, Lucas rarely found another group of students trying to gain experience here.

The Clip Claw Spider, although easy to spot and encounter, was actually hard and dangerous to kill.

Most students, if they came here, usually hunt the weaker Crack Back Lizard and avoid the Clip Claw Spider if they can.

Ever since his encounter with the seniors pursuing the Cliff Borne Ram and the group attacked by the Clip Claw Spider, Lucas had not encountered any other students, making his hunt smooth with no distraction.

Even though killing a fellow human was also forbidden by law in this world, he knew that true murderers had never been afraid of the law.

Especially in a world like this where power reigns supreme, a slight disagreement can cost you your life.

Even though he constantly saw the propaganda that the beasts were the ultimate enemy of the world, Lucas knew that conflict has always been ingrained in the genes of humans.

The surface may seem peaceful, but who knew what was happening behind the backs of the masses?

In truth, if he could, Lucas would certainly avoid interacting with humans inside a dungeon where everything can happen at any given time.

Lucas heard that in other dungeons where rare resources and treasures were still present, a conflict would always lead to someone's death.

Outside of the Safe Area, just like how anyone can be your friend, anyone can also be your enemy.

The situation inside a regulated dungeon was, of course, more tranquil and orderly compared to non-regulated dungeons out there.

Here, the school's law and regulation still apply, and students were more or less afraid to break any of them.

Killing a fellow student, for example, was a huge crime that can sentence one to life in prison.

Of course, that was if they got caught.

Due to the invasion of dungeons and beasts, one might think that this world was specially united.

However, Lucas himself knew that this was far from the truth.

As one expert had said, the true enemy of humans has never been the beasts or the dungeons, but the humans themselves.

…

[Name: Lucas Valen

Age: 17

Grimoire Grade: Unranked

Rank: Iron Star 2 (1.11/225)

Spiritual Energy: 18/58

Beasts: Gentle Dog]

Nodding in satisfaction, Lucas prepared to return to the Safe Area, exit the dungeon, and call it a day.

The White Stone Cliff was no longer the best hunting ground for him during the night, as during that time, the Clip Claw Spider would finally wake up and build their web to hunt for prey.

Battling was also more dangerous, as one would not be able to see clearly during the night.

Lucas had no plan to risk his life battling in such an unfavorable environment.

His gain for today was already enough, and there was no need for him to continue hunting.

Raising one star rank in a single day was unheard of, especially for someone like him who only has an unranked grade grimoire.

Lucas thought that he had already broken even from his Starlight Coins. In fact, what he gained has countless times more value than the Starlight Coins he spent to enter the dungeon.

What was disappointing, though, was the fact that he still had not received another grimoire page that can be used to contract another beast.

Usually, one has a chance to receive as they level up in star ranks.

Lucas already leveled up twice but still did not receive any.

"What bad luck."

More than an hour later, Lucas finally arrived in the Safe Area once more.

As he entered, he saw a lot of people gathering in a certain spot.

Curious about what was going on, Lucas approached and regretted his action a moment later.

"Yeah, they're in their third year. I heard they died after getting attacked by a Cliff Borne Ram in White Stone Cliff."

As Lucas heard those words, his gaze also landed on the five disfigured humans lying in a pool of blood.

Lucas' eyes constricted, realizing that the bodies belonged to the five 'seniors' he just saved earlier.