New Skill and Upgrades!

Stark hesitated for a moment, pondering how to allocate his skill points.

He could upgrade domination all the way to level 3, or maybe upgrade both domination and focus to level 2…

In the end, he decided that it didn't matter as he would get more skill points as he leveled up.

[You have upgraded 'Domination' to level 2!]

[You have upgraded 'Focus' to level 2!]

With that, he should be slightly stronger than before.

[Note: Skills can only be upgraded up to level 10 (without a skill upgrade stone), the rest depends on stats, class, weapon and the strength of the skill]

'Domination should be a really powerful skill… shouldn't it?' after all he was able to do more than 1000 points of damage if he hit the enemy right.

Although he had no real way to know if it was more than others since he had only ever seen Daniel deal 357 to him.

[You have slain two "decaying corpses lvl6", gained 1200EXP]

[You have slain "cursed dog lvl7", gained 721EXP]

[You have slain two "Black Rats lvl7", gained 1240EXP!]

[Experience: 8798/10000]

Soon enough, Stark found himself in the level 10 area, there were no signs of life there either, just broken buildings and solitary, twisted trees that had been bent by the ravages of time.

With a deep breath, he stepped forward and the world around him turned darker than previously.

[The rays of the Black Sun seem to be hitting harder here, the monsters are stronger and more aggressive]

This explanative text appeared right as he entered, making him wonder if he shouldn't turn back and wait for other people to come as to increase his odds of safety.

But no…

"Get yourself together, Stark, these fools don't believe in you, and they would probably sacrifice you if it came to it," he slapped both his cheeks, and took a step toward the level 10 area of the [City Ruins].

As Stark continued his journey through the rift, he couldn't help but feel a sense of unease.

There weren't any decaying corpses, cursed dogs or black rats in here anymore, making it weird as he had gotten used to these fellas.

It didn't take long for the first creature to appear though.

As he passed in between two giant buildings, something grabbed his legs.

"-103!"

"Ouch!" he looked to see that a shadowy hand coming out of the ground had grabbed him and hurt his legs, some blood pouring out from them.

[Name: Shadow Figure]

[Level: 10]

[HP: 1100]

[Strength: 82]

[Stamina: 12]

[Speed: 105]

[Defense: 12]

[Skills: Grab; Shadow Step]

Seeing that its defense was extremely low, Stark took his chance and focused his aura around his leg before kicking the shadow in the face.

The "Shadow Figure" was a monster that could hide in between shadows to take classifiers by surprise, you would usually be able to see them because of their bright yellow eyes that were easily noticeable, but unfortunately enough, Stark had no experience so he didn't pay attention.

And as Stark attacked the shadow with his foot…

"-1427!"

The shadow vanished once it was killed.

'Holy shit, that's a lot of damage!'

[You have slain "Shadow Figure lv10", gained 1300EXP!]

And right afterward, he was surrounded by the familiar golden glow.

[Your level has increased to level 4, granting you one skill point and boost in stats]

[Experience: 98/15000]

Stark was happy he was finally able to upgrade his level and become stronger, but the itch in his leg reminded of him of the sudden attack he had just survived.

[HP: 147/250]

'Hm,' his level was upgraded, and his HP also went up, but it seemed like he wasn't actually able to refill his health without the proper skills/items, meaning he would need to be extra careful.

[You have upgraded 'Domination' to level 3!]

He also didn't waste time and immediately upgraded his domination skill in case he forgot.

And so he kept going, his journey inside the dungeon far from over as the goal of all the participants was to defeat the boss.

The person that would defeat the boss would obviously get the dungeon rewards while also keeping their identity hidden since except if they were in a party, no one would really know.

Until then, everyone would have to keep fighting in the dungeon and risk their lives, the test not over it is confirmed that its boss was dead.

[You have slain "Shadow Figure lv10", gained 1300EXP!]

[You have slain "Decaying Corpse lv10", gained 1100EXP!]

[You have slain "Ghoul lv11", gained 1500EXP!]

…

[Your level has increased to level 5, granting you one skill point and boost in stats]

[Experience: 550/25000]

…

Before long, Stark was able to reach level 5, enveloped by the familiar golden glow after killing more enemies.

Without a second thought, he decided to open up his panel to check his stats.

[Level:] 5

[HP:] 297/400

[Bloodline:] Human

[Class:] Domination

[Info about class:] The first Domination Trial is coming soon, be ready…

[Talent:] Chosen one

[Attributes:] Strength 17; Speed 14; Mind/Soul 26; Stamina 18; Defense 12

[Skills:] Spatial Inventory; Class Wheel; Perception; Domination lv3; Focus lv2

…

'Hm…' Stark's stats had indeed improved, but what interested him the most was that he had unlocked a new skill.

[Level 5 Reached: please pick a card]

3 different cards appeared in front of him, the three of them painted with a grey color, their front impossible to see from his position, and although he tried to turn around, the cards would obviously just turn as well, making it impossible to check what they contained.

[Each of these cards hold a skill, choose one randomly]

'I'll have to try and get a mirror to see if I can cheat the system…' Stark's first thought as he saw the three cards was to find a way to cheat his way to success.

But realizing it wasn't possible for now, he took a deep breath and decided to take a chance. He reached out and picked one of the cards at random.

As he did, the card flipped over to reveal its front, showing a picture of a glowing fist.

…

[Skill: Aura Smash]

[Type: Uncommon]

[Level: 1]

[Description: Unleash a devastating punch that deals damage based on the amount of aura used, it is perfect for ranged enemies, and has a 30% chance to stun the target, cooldown of 30 seconds between each use]

…

Stark's eyes widened as he read the description. This could potentially be a game changer, especially if he was able to stun his enemies first, plus he was already beginning to think that fighting hands-to-hands with enemies that can infect him was bad.

Below the skill description was some sort of stickman animation, the stickman which represented Stark focusing his aura in his hand before throwing a punch, and a giant crimson fist of aura launching itself toward some enemies.

[Aura Smash has been added to your skill list]

'I'll have to try that later, huh…'

He kept going, but of course not before using his skill point.

[You have upgraded 'Aura Smash' to level 2!]