Level 20

"{Collect}"

{Obtained, String x4}

How does the system decide what materials to give? Just string? I understand string if it's based on the monster, but I'd expect more from Pin. Then again, if the system provided all the materials possible, harvesting classes would not be needed. Guess I'll start collecting more bodies.

What's the point of these materials anyway? For crafting classes? I know you can craft gear, but isn't it too tedious if you had to go back and forth from harvesting to a crafting class?

I wonder if the system planned for people to go back and forth to craft gear. Once I reach a functioning city, I'll be able to understand more; until then, I'm stuck with these potentially useless thoughts.

Walking on, I made sure to stay in the middle of the path, watching for any more monsters waiting to attack. With the number of webs strung throughout the dungeon that I've seen, one measly squider couldn't have done that alone.

And if on cue, a bush to my left and right started violently shaking. Jumping back to keep an eye on both bushes. A blur leaped from within straight toward me like a bullet. Bringing my dagger up, I cut the blur in two.

Before I could enjoy my successful kill, another blur from the left bush came at me. Faster than the previous one, I missed my original slash.

"Ahh!"

The blur attached to my cheek, biting my skin. No, the monster was trying to poke straight through my cheek; a tight, painful pinching erupted, causing half my face to heat up.

This is the first time I wanted nothing more than to kill; I want to take this monster's life!

Stashing away my dagger, I grabbed the monster and squeezed it, forcing it to let go of my skin. Ripping it off my face, I held it firmly with both hands, looking at the monster that attacked me.

Six blood-red eyes, a long straight black beak, and white feathers beside the two pairs of wings. One pair was just below the neck, and the other toward the back, just shy of the tail. Black skinny legs, and a long slim white tail, the bird monster looked at me with fear.

Pressing down with my thumbs into its chest, its body expanded until it couldn't anymore. It screeched out in pain as I pressed down even harder. I squeezed until a loud popping noise woke me from my trance.

Exploding from the head, blood and guts flowed down, staining my hands red.

"Why?"

For the first time, I lost control; nothing else mattered to me besides killing. This isn't like me; even when my 'friends' beat me, I never once thought of retaliating, let alone killing. This isn't me.

"Is this a side effect of leveling up or the dungeons?" I questioned, hoping I was staying the same.

I'm not a monster that only thinks of killing; the monster attacked me, and it's normal to want revenge, but I lost control. I couldn't even control myself to check what that monster's name was.

Rubbing the area it attacked me, I felt a large bump on my cheek, but besides that, I didn't see any blood - besides the small amount that came off my hands. It hurt so much but didn't cause a serious injury.

{Earned 1000 Experience Points}

{Level Up! x2}

What the hell...

Two monsters gave me a thousand experience! This pain is nothing compared to the experience. Speaking of pain, the bump sized down, and the pain mostly faded. The effects of leveling up are too powerful!

"{Status}"

{Name: Kai Venator

Race: Human

Class: N/A

Level: 13/50 - 200/700 -> 15/50 - 150/800

Hp: 1,450/1,450-> 1,748/1,750

Energy: (Locked)

Magic: (Locked)

Mind: 70 -> 85

Vitality: 58 -> 70

Strength: 65 -> 78 (+5)

Intelligence: 58 -> 71

Agility: 63-> 76

Dexterity: 60 -> 73

Resistance: 55 -> 69(+5)

Attribute Points: 24 -> 28

Equipment: (Click To See)

Inventory: (Click To See)}

Two hp points were taken off because of this injury; how does it even calculate that? I'd rather not know or be below half-hp. Soon I'll have all stats reaching triple digits! Having more than ten in each stat was once only a dream to me, but here I am. It just makes my blood boil in excitement, it may not be good compared to others, but I don't care.

Knowing where others are is good to know where I stand, but constantly comparing myself would only cause harm. And once I get a class, everything changes, or so I've been told. Each class has unique skills, and the stats gained vary to match the class.

Looking down, I saw the other monster that attacked me; it was another squider.

"{Collect}"

{Obtained, String}

Only one string this time, but that's probably because it was split in two, reducing the value it had. The monster I popped like a balloon didn't give me any materials if I had to guess why it was because it exploded.

The better the condition of the corpse, the better materials I can harvest from it. I'll have to find a way to kill without causing damage; poison is the first thing that comes to mind. Of course, there are other ways, like drowning, but I'll have to wait and see what I can get my hands on.

I did learn something from this; the floor guardian is probably above or at level 20. I can't imagine two monsters below level 15 giving a total of a thousand experience. And if it's like the previous dungeon, no monster is at the same level as the floor guardian.

Preparing myself to continue forward, I refuse to lose control again. I felt like a mindless monster programmed to kill. Is that what the monsters in the dungeons feel like?

Leaving behind the gory mess that exploded on the ground, I walked on without looking back; it was only a bad memory now. My hands dripped with crimson blood, leaving a trail behind me.

The bushes grew to the point I couldn't see over them anymore, and spider webs started appearing on them. Some connect to the leaves above and trees far away.

"How does the other path look?"

The starting path changed from its original bright, clear terrain to a dark, cold place—webs blocking any movement besides the intended path.

"If I had taken the other path, would it have opened up?"

Perhaps I wasn't overthinking. I can always turn back, but what if it only worsens on the other path? I'll be wasting time and energy.

Because of leveling up, I don't need to rest my body; mentally, I'm wiped. Too much has happened.

Unless the next floor is a little safer, it doesn't seem like I'll get any rest here.

"Oh, come on!" I cried, watching as a bush rattled.

Why do they even shake? It's like they want me to know where they are. Are they building up strength, and it vibrates their bodies, causing the bushes to shake? Whatever the reason was, I prepared myself for the incoming attack.

The bush rattled once more before a blur rushed from it. This time I could see that it was another bird monster, instead of slicing it with my unexpectedly sharp dagger. I waited until it was about to latch itself onto my cheek. Jerking my body to the right to avoid its attack, I launched my left arm toward it, my fingers latching onto the bird, restricting its movement. Without giving it a second to process what happened, I grasped the monster with both hands, my index fingers just above its eyes and my thumbs under its chin, with the rest of my fingers around the wings and legs.

"{Inspect}"

{Six-Eye Canary}

{Tier:0 Level:18}

This thing is two levels higher than me! No wonder it's so fast, but I can react now that my level has grown since the last encounter. My level grew from the last encounter.

Squeezing the bird and holding it in place, I slowly retracted my right hand just enough to bring out my dagger.

Pin's dagger was amazingly sharp, which is far from my first impression of it. I've only had it for a bit and already stained the handle red. I didn't expect to keep it clean for long, so it didn't bother me; only a fool would expect a weapon to remain clean.

I gave the six-eye canary a quick and painless death. I'm no monster; well, I don't think I am, not yet.

{Earned 600 Experience Points}

"{Collect}"

{Obtained, Feather x10, String x5, Raw Meat x10, Six-Eye Canary Eye x3}

Why did I only get meat now? Were the others not acceptable to give me meat, or was I just unlucky? Whatever may be the reason, I finally had food. Since leveling refreshes my body, I haven't felt any thirst or hunger, but once it becomes harder to level up, I'll need to eat again. It's always nice to be prepared. Besides the meat, I got a lot of materials this time around, though I don't know what I'll use the eyes for.

I could sell them for something later on.

At least this confirms my thoughts; the floor guardian is above level 15, probably 20 or 25. Hopefully, it's level 25. If not, the next floor guardians would be levels 30, 40, and 50. I'm not against fighting this many floor guardians as I would get more gear, but I'd like to complete the dungeon soon.

I can't be stuck inside this dungeon my whole life; I want to see what's out there.

The previous torches that illuminated light over bushes started fading away. Less and less light was visible, almost to the point I was surrounded by darkness. I could barely see twenty feet ahead of me.

Walking through the darkness, my eyes soon adjusted to the dark; it was still hard to see but bearable.

Constantly watching my surroundings, I noticed a figure crawling on the ground in the near distance.

A big shadowy figure at least an inch tall and a few inches wide, whatever it was, I don't think I'll like it. I stopped walking; I stayed still, watching it move across the path until it stopped mid-way. As if it felt like it was being observed.

"What is it doing?" I whispered.

Leaning forward in anticipation, I watched as the figure made a weird movement, arching its back in the air. Quietly walking on, I felt a sense of danger coming at me, similar to when the canaries attacked me.

"What is that?"

A white object appeared out of nowhere, blocking my view of the figure.

"Wow!"

The white object grew bigger and bigger, coming straight at me! Dodging to the side, a whole chunk of web passed by. Narrowly avoiding the web, I looked back at the figure to see it coming straight at me.

Does it know that it missed? If not, how did it even see me? No matter the monster, it seemed all of them have a limited thought process.

As it drew closer, its size increased; it was now standing about a foot tall and a few feet wide, including the length of its many legs.

I still couldn't get a good look at it; I could see the outline of the monster; eight eyes and six red eyes glowed in the dark.

Another shot of webs came straight toward me. Jumping to the side, I looked back at the monster only to find more figures behind it.

It's too hard to count just how many of them there are, but even with them being far away, I could tell they were much smaller than the first monster that attacked me.

The first monster had reached within my twenty-foot vision range, giving me a clear look at it—a small black hairy body with long hairy eight legs and eight red eyes—two pinchers on the side of its small, almost invisible mouth.

"{Inspect}"

{Midnight Tarantula}

{Tier: 0 Level:20}

"They just keep getting higher level!"

Dodging another web attack, my feet moved on their own, meeting the tarantula head-on. From its last attacks, it seems the tarantula has to wait a few seconds before shooting again. Giving me just enough time to get close enough and stab it.

Within just a few feet from the tarantula, it raised its front two legs, a sharp claw extending from its tips. The tarantula swiped at me, trying to slice me in two. Jumping out of the way, waited till it lowered its legs onto the ground before pouncing.

Its pinchers clicked together, seemingly mad it couldn't hit me.

Kicking one of its front legs, causing it to panic, I stepped on the other front leg. Holding my dagger, I plunged it deep inside the tarantula, just above its mouth.

Before I could celebrate, the other shadow figures I saw finally caught up. A large horde of smaller spiders emerged from the darkness.

Black spiders with white marks on their backs and hundreds of red eyes stared at me.

"{Inspect}"

{Willow Spider}

{Tier:0 Level: 7}

Because of their small size and low level, I could easily deal with the large amount of them.

Stepping and squishing spiders left and right. Green blood poured over my feet and sandals; only blood and guts remained wherever I stepped. Eliminating one spider at a time, I cut down their number from over twenty to only one left.

Lifting my leg above the last remaining spider, my foot smashed against the ground, crushing it.

Unfortunately, with this method, I will only be able to harvest a few materials from them.

With no more spiders left alive, I could finally breathe without worry. They were only level 7, but I didn't let my guard down completely; I won't take the risk of being bit.

"{Collect}"

{Earned 2,900 Experience Points}

{Level Up! x5}

{Obtained, Willow Eye x15, Midnight Tarantula Eye x2, Midnight Tarantula fang x3}

"Hahaha!"

Five whole levels from massacring spiders! I'm now level twenty, and only thirty more till evolution, which is the most essential part of growing stronger.