Pitiful Fate

Only after a dungeon has been fully conquered will the beasts inside turn into particles of light upon death. Before a dungeon is conquered, the first dungeon raiders or divers enjoy the unique benefit of harvesting the materials left by the beasts' bodies. These early raiders have a significant advantage, as they can gather valuable materials like hide, bones, meat, and other resources that can be used to craft powerful weapons, armor, and even certain potions.

This was also the reason why newly descended dungeons were pretty popular. Popular and strong hunters would storm toward a newly descended dungeon, trying to get the first raid benefits. 

Lucas even heard that major groups even went to conflicts just to obtain the first raid benefit.

Once a dungeon gets conquered, the subsequent raids or dives would only earn the summoners the experience points obtained from killing beasts, or if they got lucky and found some undiscovered treasures. However, such cases were rare, as the first dungeon divers would surely search the whole dungeon to obtain all that they could.

Lucas did not think that he could find any hidden treasures in the school-regulated dungeon anyway. Like many others, the sole reason he came into this regulated dungeon was to gain experience points.

Unfortunately, seeing the experience acquisition rate of an Unranked Grimoire summoner like him, his motivation still could not help but sink.

[You have killed an Iron Grade-Iron Star 1, Blood-Eyed Mole (100%): You gained 1.69 XP]

From what he knew, an Iron Star 1 Beast gives 100 experience points. Since what he killed was an Iron Grade, it has a bonus of 50%, and hence the total would be 150 experience points.

If you fight and kill a beast above your star rank, you will also gain a certain bonus. If you fight and kill a beast below your star rank, your experience points will be deducted. The star rank was also calculated based on the summoner's star rank and not the contracted beast or summon.

After some calculation, Lucas determined that the total experience points that the Blood-Eyed Mole gave should be 169.

Unfortunately, Unranked Grade Grimoire only obtains 1% of the experience points they gain; hence, he only received 1.69 experience points from killing the Iron Star 1 creature. 

This was even after the fact that his contribution to the kill was at 100%. If there was another person in his team, and that person made a 20% contribution while he only got 80%, then the experience points he gained would only be 1.35.

According to the studies of experts, an Unranked grade only receives 1% of the beast's experience. An Iron Grade receives 5%, a Bronze Grade receives 10%, a Silver Grade receives 20%, and a Gold Grade grimoire user receives a whopping 50%.

This was the main reason why low-grade grimoires were looked down upon by the others.

It takes them a lifetime just to go from an Unranked Star to Iron Star 1, which only requires 100 experience points.

Considering his experience acquisition rate, Lucas calculated that he must kill more than 50 Iron Star 1 Blood-Eyed Mole before he could ascend and become an Iron Star 1 summoner.

For an Iron Grimoire, it would only take them 12 kills of Iron Star 1 Blood-Eyed Mole to level up to Iron Star 1 rank if they killed the beast solo. 

For Bronze grade and above, it would take them even fewer kills, while a Gold grade would ascend to Iron Star 1 after killing two such beasts with a 100% contribution.

Looking at the Gentle Dog in the appearance of the Hellhound, Lucas forcibly calmed his emotions.

Tied down by his grimoire grade, Lucas has no other choice but to kill as many beasts as he can to level up.

"Since I need to kill, then I shall kill as many as I can!" He vowed as a resolute gaze flickered on his eyes.

He looked at the Gentle Dog, and as if sensing his determination, it let out a low growl and nudged its massive head toward Lucas' chin, as if saying 'lift your head up', as it was in full support of his ambition.

Lucas smiled and stroked the Gentle Dog's head gently.

Since it only took a few seconds for the Gentle Dog to kill the Blood-Eyed Mole, they did not need to rest and proceed to search for more prey.

Since he did not know the limit of the transformation and the skill description described that it was only temporary, Lucas decided to test its limits as they searched for their next prey.

As he had studied the map and the beasts roaming in the outer area of the dungeon, Lucas and the Gentle Dog maneuvered and finally found their second beast a few minutes later.

It was a rabbit-like beast with a horn on its head. It was as big as a normal-sized dog from his previous life, but its strength was twice, if not three, as strong as one.

Knowing that they could take on the beast head-on, Lucas did not hesitate and ordered the Gentle Dog to attack.

Like before, the Gentle Dog still managed to overpower the beast easily, even if it was a grade higher than it was.

The Hellhound Manifestation skill was indeed potent. Lucas wondered what the limit of its current strength was.

Unfortunately, he doesn't have any data to conform to, so he has no idea just how strong the Gentle Dog in Hellhound form was.

The rabbit was still just an Iron Star 1 beast. Lucas obtained another 1.69 experience points after the Gentle Dog bit and tore its body apart, forming it into particles of light that dissolved in the air.

The experience points on his profile page had now turned into 3.38/100.

Lucas let out a sigh of defeat but did not take it to heart. He just proceeded forward, in search of another prey.

After a while, Lucas and the Gentle Dog killed another Iron Star 1 beast, gaining another 1.69 experience points.

After the quick battle, Lucas realized that the Hellhound Manifestation was about to end.

He calculated the time and realized that it had been fifteen minutes since the moment the Gentle Dog used the skill.

Lucas noted this down as he told the Gentle Dog to revert to its normal form. After it did so, he also took note that it was a little weak, probably due to the effects of the skill.

Lucas decided to take a rest and wait for the Gentle Dog to recover.

He returned it inside the grimoire, as it was known that they recovered quickly if they rested inside compared to if they rested in the real world.

Since the summoner could still sense the situation of a beast inside the grimoire, Lucas would still be able to know its status even if it was inside.

Lucas also did not wait long, as he realized that the Gentle Dog had fully recovered after resting for 5 minutes.

He summoned it again and noted that it could use the Hellhound Manifestation once more. 

A smile formed on his face as they went to search for another beast that they could kill.

Not long later, Lucas found another beast with the help of Gentle Dog.

Unlike before, Lucas realized that the beast was an Iron Star 3 beast, and there were even two of them.

"Ember Soldier Ants!" Lucas immediately paled in fright the moment he saw the two ants marching forward together.

Known for being hard to kill, the Ember Soldier Ant always came in pairs and always worked together to defeat their opponent. One was acting as the attacker, while another was assigned as the vanguard or the defender. 

Both have a hard exoskeleton, making them very hard to kill with sharp weapons, and their tactic makes them almost impossible to kill during a sudden confrontation. And this was even in a situation where multiple people, or summoners, worked together to defeat them.

They were also known for their ferocity, often attacking any creature around them, no matter if they were dungeon beasts or summoners. They do not discriminate and attack everyone that enters their range.

From the information, it was suggested that when they meet the Ember Soldier Ants, they must flee at once before they get discovered.

Lucas did not hesitate and decided to retreat at once.

However, at the next moment, he realized that one of the Ember Soldier Ants had already noticed their presence.

Knowing that there was no chance to escape easily, Lucas ordered the Gentle Dog to transform into the Hellhound form at once.

He ordered it to mainly defend while they retreated, hoping that they would find help as they retreated toward the Safe Area.

The next moment, though, a shocking scene was presented in front of his eyes.