66 DanMachi 36
We set up a nice little camp, with a fireplace and a tent, and had a long nap on the 72nd floor. In the morning, after Olivia made a quick breakfast and I gave her the two bundles of hair, the ones I liberated from the deceased Ottar's and the Dark Elf dude's head.
After noticing the Racial stats, the Dark Elf gave, she shifted to it. And oh boy did she look sexy. Her frame, similarly to her High Elf transformation, shifted to a leaner, taller one. Her boobs and behind shrank but at the same time gained a lot more firmness. Her dark brown hair shifted to a black one, while her ears elongated and gained the typical elfish look. Lastly, her skin went from white to a shade of gray, perfect for hiding in the shadows.
Ottar was known for his Boaz origins, but to my utter surprise, that's not the race we were granted, strangely after forming the race card, the unique race Demigod showed up on the system screen and then locked itself up till tier 3.
[Race: [Demigod] locked till Tier 3.]
[Demigod]
+5 VIT, +5 PER +5 CHAR per Global Level
- Gain 40% resistance towards divinity.
- The user's lifespan is extended by 2,000 years.
- Gain the skill [Spec of Divinity], allowing you to accumulate belief.
The race was strong, but it felt underwhelming compared to some of the others I had. The boost to perception, however, was a nice little bonus. Reminded by this, offered to shave off some of the horn material, so she could get the Voidborn class, but she just straight up refused it, and remembering the pain I went through when I got class, I could perfectly understand why.
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 75] Completed 75 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 76] Completed 76 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 77] Completed 77 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 78] Completed 78 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 79] Completed 79 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 80] Completed 80 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 81] Completed 81 WP(x4) Received]
Each [Celestial Eyes] and [Blink] to the next floor, became harder and harder, the spatial interference that I was ignoring for most of the earlier floors, was starting to become a real problem. I compensated for it as much as I could, but it was starting to have a toll on me. Thankfully, only the jumps between floors became harder, while the ones done inside of it worked perfectly normally.
The fucking floating island levels were eight floors deep, making me quite annoyed. It started in 73 and ended up and 80. We didn't inspect most of the monsters on those floors, but following the theme of them, I suspected that all of them were flying enemies.
We did, however, stop and dispose of any and all of the Harpies, found on these floors and unsurprisingly, there were a lot. Each floor housed multiple of those spiraling towers, which indeed were the nesting areas of Harpies. It didn't take long for us to clear the level seven kill quest.
6x [Quest: [Slay 7 (R*8)] Completed 70 WP(x4) Received]
Focusing on this quest, and all the kills I've got with it, not only allowed me to max my class effortlessly but level the next one all the way to level 38, while my global class only rose by two levels, reaching 82. At the same time, Olive gained three global class levels, reaching 77, and eleven class levels.
When I exit, I really need a check on the class system upgrades, a better distribution of experience for class leveling would be appreciated. Currently, the first few levels only took a kill or two, while the last few took ages. If I remember it right, and my [Archive] skill tells me I do, there were multiple options for experience distribution for the class system.
Back to the topic... As Blue Mage was maxed out, I choose the second strongest, by my standards, from the list of already too many – scratch that, my skills tell me it's 38 – from the list of 38 unlocked and interesting classes.
Mind Mage 0/50
+3 INT, +2 WIS per level
Gain the ability [Mind Control], allowing the full control of individuals.
Gain a 50% boost to all mind-related abilities, skills, or spells.
[Skill: [Mind Control] unlocked.]
[Mind Control LVL: Max]
- Allows the user to connect to a mind.
- A successful connection allows full control of the mind and body.
- Mind shields will prevent any attempt at full control, but partial, body control is possible.
- A maximum of 10 connections at a time can be made.
The ability the class gave out was powerful, and I could barely hold myself back from testing it out right away. Sadly, the monsters in the dungeon didn't have minds of their own, as they were constructs made out of condensed mana, now how that mana turned into drop items and how monster remains could be harvested, I didn't know, but I did know that their magical cores were their only lifelines. So I ignored the itching feeling in my mind, tempting me to play around with the new skill, and continued to hunt.
Now let's just say that the 81 floor was a horror show. Not only was it pitch-black darkness, but the monsters all had some kind of shadow, darkness, or death affinity. Scaring the shit out of me the first time we noticed one. The whole gimmick of these floors was that light didn't travel too far, [Conjure Flame] was always on, rising in levels quite fast, but even a fireball the size of a basketball only illuminated an area of one meter around it.
The traversal through these floors was even more difficult thanks to the uneven terrain and the jagged, extremely sharp stones that littered the floor.
The monsters most commonly found on these floors were Shades, yes the likes of Voldi-dork, black screaming masses of gas, that liked to possess you. Yeah, that didn't work out so well for them. Olive's [Mind of the Blade] actually killed one that attempted to manipulate her mind. While my heavily fortified mind shields didn't even creak under their assaults. Quickly disposing of them, we continued our journey downwards.
Wraths could also be found on these floors. Imagine a skeleton and Dementor had a baby and you get a dude with a skull for a head and robes made out of tangible shadows. These guys were quite nice to me and gave me the [Shadow Clothes] skill, allowing me to cover myself in shadows to create clothes. I tested it out, and it felt amazing, they didn't weigh anything or impend my movements. Additionally, they increased the power of stealth-related skills while active. So the still was a nice addition to my ever-growing arsenal.
The next type of monsters we met were Specters and Poltergeists. Their intangibility was a pain to fight against, but Olivia handled it with her [True Cut] skill. While she was fighting them, I just stood to the side and manically laughed at the notification I received.
[Skill: [Intangibility] unlocked.]
[Intangibility LVL: 1/100]
- For 5*level seconds you cannot affect and cannot be affected by the physical world.
- Cooldown 60 seconds, reduced by 1% per level.
When the fight cooled down Olive turned to me with an annoyed look on her face.
"You could have helped out..." She says giving me a deadpan look.
"Sorry, I was checking out the skill I got from these guys." I say and activate it phasing through Olivia without trouble. She rolls her eyes and after a sigh says.
"Quit playing around... We need to hurry up."
"Sorry, sorry." I say rising both of my arms. "It won't happen again."
She nods with a pout on her mouth then we continue our descent.
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 82] Completed 82 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 83] Completed 83 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 84] Completed 84 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 85] Completed 85 WP(x4) Received]
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 86] Completed 86 WP(x4) Received]
The last type of monster we met in this total darkness was something I dubbed Nightwalker. The creature similar to War Shadows was made out of tangible shadows, but that's where the comparison ended.
These guys were nine meters tall and had two-meter-long claws, three pairs of sapphire blue eyes, and four-meter-long horns.
They could travel through shadows, and appear from anywhere, sending out area-of-effect waves of darkness-infused mana, that corroded even stone, while balls of shadow-infused mana formed between their horns, and quickly shot at their targets. With their level eight stats, these guys were the true rulers of these floors. Their strength, agility, and even their magic stats were sky high, not eclipsing ours, but still providing us with hard-fought fights. The only skill I did learn from them, was the most useful one in their repertoire.
[Skill: [Shadow Walk] unlocked.]
[Shadow Walk LVL: 1/100]
- Allows you to move from one shadow to another, without a delay.
- Cooldown 10 seconds, reduced by 1% per level.
To our utter surprise, floor 86 was a twilight floor, with bright stars visible over our heads. It had a huge ocean, from what [Celestial Eyes] could tell me, covering most of the floor, while around it was an infinite long beach, with the finest sand I have ever laid my eyes on.
After inspecting it closer, I notices particles of mana stuck in between the sand molecules, grabbing some iron ingots from my inventory, I quickly made a few buckets, thanks to [Celestial Forge], and filled them with sand, then stored all of it into my inventory to inspect it later.
The floor was beautiful, the stars shining over your head, the light waves hitting the shore, the tranquil atmosphere. It was one of the most breathtaking places in the dungeon, and we were the first ones to ever lay our eyes on it.
The break from all the fighting was quite welcome, as we both hit the maximum in all of our stats. We've already been hunting for sixteen hours, and right now, waiting for Hestia to be alone so we could get our status and levels updated.
I've kept my eyes on the goddess during the day, and she was currently being interrogated by the guild staff. I couldn't possibly know what they were talking about, but I had a few guesses.
"How is she doing?" Asks Olivia, while mixing the thick soup she is making, the smell that thing was giving out made my mouth water.
"She's fine, still at the Guild headquarters."
"Do you think they will let her out today?"
"I really hope so..." I answer, with a grimace on my face.
"Ignore her, she's safe in the guild for now. You seem really tired." She says. "How much focus and mana does it take you to see the surface from here?" She quickly pinpoints the reason for my fatigue.
"150.000 to cast, around 40.000 to upkeep the spell."
"Holy shit! Stop using it, right now! You'll check on her in the morning."
She was right, like always, channeling that much mana for a longer amount of time, had an effect had a bad effect on my mental capacities. Making them dull, and prone to errors. Shutting off the spell I drop on my back and look up at the sky.
"This place is amazing." I comment.
"Yeah..." She says, then starts thinking.
After the rest, I checked on Hestia, quickly confirming she was safe, at home and alone. I [Blink]ed both of us right inside of her room, startling her in the process, but before she could scream in fright, Olive dashed at her and covered her mouth.
"Shush." She said. "Better not to wake up the others." And after the goddess nodded Olive let her go.
"DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH WHAT HAPPENED?" The goddess shout-whispered.
"Yeah, we took care of her." I admit.
"WHY?!" Her voice rises.
"She kidnaped, Haruhime, hurt Lili and tried to make us leave this familia and join her. While at the same time, she tried to charm us." Said Olive with a grimace.
"I knew about the first part, everyone knows about it! That's why you're the suspects!" She says, but then sighs. "But I didn't know about the last part." She looks to the ground with a dejected look.
"It's okay Hesti, she got what she deserved." Said Olivia, while patting her back.
"You need to leave, if someone finds you here you will be in trouble." Looked up to us Hestia, after a moment of silence.
"We know, but currently there is no one around, and we need a level up."
"Already?" She looks at us with wide eyes. "It was barely a week ago that I leveled you guys up!" she exclaims again.
"Yeah, we're on the 86th floor right now. Stuff gets crazy at that point." Ignoring the shocked 'Whaaat' from the goddess I continue. "Actually Olivia wanted to ask you about something." I look at Olive and she nods after a long pause she says.
"Hesti we're planning on moving away after we clear the dungeon." She says while fidgeting with her hands, takes a deep breath, and adds. "But that doesn't mean we won't see each other again." She says with a weak smile.
"Don't go, we'll clear up everything regarding the incident, you won't be in any trouble." The goddess pleas while tears form in her eyes.
"We weren't fully truthful and we're sorry for lying to you, but Andrew's home is experiencing a hard time, we came here to grow stronger so we can save that place." She says reaching for Hestia's hands and squeezing them tightly. She gives her a quick smile and adds. "But we'll come to visit as soon as possible, alright?"
The tearful goddess nods but doesn't let go of Olivia's hand. "Let's get you leveled up quickly." She mumbles and pulls Olive to her bed, this time not kicking me out of the room.
A few minutes later, both of us go through the process and are now standing at level eight.
[Falna Status] (Andrew)
Level: 7 > 8
Strength: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Endurance: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Dexterity: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Agility: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Magic: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
D.A.:
[Mage SSS] [Spirit Healing SSS] [Magic Resistance A>S] [Swordsman A>S] [Abnormal Resistance F>E] [Healing Power I>F] [Blacksmith I]
Magic:
[Blink SS>SSS] [Arsenal SS>SSS] [Celestial Eyes S>SSS] [Alter Orb B>S] [Gate E>A] [Celestial Forge C>B] [Clean C>B] [Infuse A>SS] [Svalinn H>G] > [Spatial Barrier G>F] [Gift of Life G>F] [Fly E>D] [Destiny B>S]
Skills:
[Sage's Wisdom] [Mana's Blessing] [Magic Penetration] [Magical Embodiment] [Archive]
[Falna Status] (Olivia)
Level: 7 > 8
Strength: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Endurance: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Dexterity: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Agility: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
Magic: 1,500 (SSS) > 0 (I)
D.A.:
[Swordsman SSS] [Chain Attack A>SS] [Crush C>A] [Abnormal Resistance D>B] [Magic Resistance G>E] [Healing Power I>F] [Spirit Healing I]
Magic:
[Icicles C] [Blink SS>SSS] [Clean D>C] [Infuse SSS] [Fly H>G] [Destiny C>A]
Skills:
[Heart's Desire] [Sacred Dance] [True Cut] [Heroic Empowerment] [Mind of the Blade]
[Spirit Healing LVL:1/120]
- Increases mana regeneration by 0.5%/LVL.
[Blacksmith LVL:1/120]
- Gain the buff [Inspiration], increasing your Wisdom and Intelligence by 20% while crafting.
- Gain a chance of not consuming a reagent when crafting 0.05%/LVL.
- Increases the quality of a forged product by 0.5%/LVL.
Similar to last time, no new skills were gained, and, sadly, we could only choose from a small list of Development Abilities. I went with [Blacksmith] and was surprised by what it had to offer, it felt kind of awkward to have two different blacksmithing skills, but they didn't fully overlap, and from what I could tell, worked in tandem. Olivia on the other hand finally picked up [Spirit Healing] for that mana regeneration, which she was truthfully suffering with.
With that done we said our tearful goodbyes to Hestia and told her we will be coming back in a few days to update our stats again and used [Blink] to reappear on the 86th floor. It was actually good to tell her about us leaving early, so she has enough time to mentally prepare herself.
We packed up our stuff and deposited it all into our inventory, shifted our races into Dark Elf and Renard, then continued the descent.
[Quest: [Dungeon diving 87] Completed 87 WP(x4) Received]
From the 87th floor onward, a new realm was present, and damn was it intriguing. Instead of ground, we were walking on fluffy, tangible clouds, high up in the atmosphere, everywhere you looked only golden light shone, lighting up the whole realm. The light was warm and welcoming. The place would be perfect, if not for the terrifying monsters that it hid.
Angels, not the winged humanoid kind, but the biblical ones, flew around a screeched at the top of their lungs. The annoying sound they made, hurt our enchanted senses. There were millions of them, and surprisingly none were aggressive, well, only until you attacked one of them.
We had to learn that the wrong way, as one of them, was on a collision course with me and swatted it away, causing millions of these guys to get enraged and fire off beams of light toward us. A single one of these spells, couldn't even hurt us, no, the light's only job was to heat up things, and a condensed beam of millions of these guys aimed at you could vaporize you in a breath.
Another bad thing about these guys was the experience they provided, similarly to the slimes from the first world I visited, they died in a single hit, but provided a single point of experience, but for some strange reason, they did give out excelia, albeit such a low amount, that my stats kept rising by a single point for every hundred of these guys I killed. This was not a viable farming ground, but they did serve a purpose.
[Destiny], [Conjure Flame], and teleporting around the battlefield, made good work of them. Olivia was using [Blink] to dodge while firing multiple sword slashes. The combination of her skills and her new title showed her strength. Hitting a single one showered the sky with gore as 2% of her initial damage spread to the next one. Splash damage was overpowered.
6x [Quest: [Slay 8 (R*6)] Completed 80 WP(x4) Received]
The last quest complete screen flashed before me and a quickly grabbed Olive and teleported a floor down. We had to stop to take a break as our breaths, even with our stats so high, became ragged. Additionally, we had to change clothes, because our current ones were charred to unrecognizability, thanks to all the rays of light we weren't able to dodge. Funny thing, and a kind of an annoying one at the same time, the [Spatial Barrier]'s embedded into our gear, were empty of mana. As they tried to protect us from the not-so-dangerous rays. A few minutes were spent, eating, changing, and charging the suits, but we couldn't stop. The next floors awaited us!
