Temptation and close call

The ring was completely black like obsidian, there were dozens of runes and symbols carved on it. Overall it looked nice without drawing too much attention at first glance.

Esdras wore it around his neck like a necklace, he couldn't use it right now. It was good to keep it under his clothes so that True mages wouldn't get a good look at it.

In this world, magic items were very rare to come by, and so even a broken magic item was greatly sought after.

The mages of this world couldn't create proper magic items, the only ones who could be the dwarves right now.

But the most valuable magic items were the ones made by the elves before they were exterminated entirely.

Although the world still hated the elves deeply even thousands of years after they were exterminated, their craftsmanship could not be replicated.

So as a mage apprentice he better not be seen in possession of a magic item for obvious reasons.

Esdras drank some water as he was resting, there were a few gulps left, he resolved himself and finished it entirely. He was determined to get out today.

He looked at the massive amount of EXP he had and was about to invest it all on his mage level but he stopped. He hesitated.

This is because a thought had occurred to him. What would happen if he used EXP to rise to level 2?

The normal method was to engrave the elemental sigil then the lesser accompanying sigils and fuse them together, this way you would be a level 2 mage apprentice.

But what was he doing now? He was engraving a completely modified sigil of Fire and another Planeswalker symbol, these were new concepts.

What if when he leveled up, the system engraved the fire sigil alone? That could be considered a true level but it was not the way he wanted to advance.

He wanted to engrave all the elemental sigils, it couldn't be done later otherwise he would be forced to continue as a fire mage.

Would the system understand his intentions? Who knows, this system didn't communicate or anything.

To be honest, he was tempted to just stop thinking about it and just level up like this. It was easy and fast, who wouldn't want to increase his power greatly within a few minutes?

Esdras slapped himself across the face, it was only a few hours ago when he was determined to build a solid foundation but now he was about to throw all of that away for a shortcut?

When he advanced as a Vigor knight, he didn't try to innovate or do anything, just following the breathing technique.

It was a simple process but what he was trying to do now as a mage was not.

The EXP was not going anywhere, if he didn't use it then it would stay there. So he decided to just grit his teeth, press on for the foundation, and then use the system after that.

That's right he just had to make the foundation and then the system would take care of the rest so why not hold on?

Obviously, if the boss of the first floor turned out to be a problem he wouldn't hesitate to use the EXP to level up there and then.

The first priority was of course his life.

Going through that struggle was tiresome but after he decided on his course of action he felt relief, he believed in himself.

Esdras stretched and removed the obstacles in the way of the door, he returned to that intersection and followed the last path.

It lead to a staircase, he went down until he passed through a wide open square, unexpectedly the boss was not there nor was ambushed.

If it were up to him he would definitely ambush the players here.

Beyond the square, there was a dark tunnel that smelled like a pigsty, but after the tunnel, there was a wooden gate, that was the boss room.

Esdras felt like shit because to get to the boss room he literally had to walk in shit. The tunnel was covered in shit and mud and who knows what else?

Esdras was disgusted beyond measure, it was stacked with that slimy stuff. He stepped in while cursing the Troglodytes, it was almost knee-deep.

He guessed that this is their doing. He lamented giving them peaceful deaths, this was the worst experience that he ever had in both of his lives.

Abruptly he felt something coiling around his ankle in the mud, and then he was flipped upside down, without understanding he was aware of the feeling of the air whipping around him.

His head splattered on the wall of the tunnel.

Or so it should have been, instead, he was protected by a golden halo that caused the wall to collapse slightly.

[The halo of Evasion has been activated once, you escaped a fatal attack.]

'W-what!'

It happened too fast, he had yet to take a clear look but he felt the spiked tentacle stabbing into his leg drag him back and then he saw it.

[Otyugh Lv.3]

An Otyugh is a grotesque, bulbous creature borne along on three sturdy legs, its eyes and nose set along a vine-like stalk that snakes from the top of its bloated body.

Two rubbery tentacles end in spiky, leaf-like appendages that the Otyugh uses to shovel food into its gaping maw. That food happened to be the suspended Esdras right now.

Esdras tried to swing at the tentacles but he was too slow as it already let him go, downright where a huge maw filled with horrendous fangs awaited him.

[The halo of Evasion has been activated twice, you escaped a fatal attack.]

The golden halo tore a deep gash in the body of the Otyugh, Esdras didn't hesitate, he brandished his sword and used a Vigor attack to complete the job.

[+50 EXP]