Part 7

"Every creature in this world has something called a ranking," Aros explained after we sat down and I began to eat today's rabbits. Aros didn't eat, nor did he remove his helmet. I had doubts that I would ever see his true face, but I didn't really mind.

By this point, my arms had already healed to normal, my cracked ribs were brand new, and my stomach was completely fine. I was shocked by the speed of my healing powers, but focused on Aros instead as he spoke, "However, that rank will mean different things depending on what it belongs to. For beasts, it's a representation of their strength. An F ranked monster will always be F ranked, while an S ranked monster will be S rank from their birth. For intelligent races, it is a representation of their potential."

"Intelligent races?"

"Humans, Dwarves, Demons, and even Draconic beings like us," Aros explained, "Anything that has a higher sense of intelligence. The biggest difference between a beast and us is the existence of levels. Beasts don't have levels, as their strength never changes while they're alive. Intelligent Races, on the other hand, do. Even high level undead use levels. However, because we use levels instead of ranking, we'll always start out as weak as an F ranked being. However, our rank can change that. While we don't start out as strong as an S ranked beast, we have the potential to become even stronger. Our rank is what decides the rate that we level up. Every rank will get a certain amount of bonus XP per kill, with more given depending on what rank both the kill and the killer is. How much do you gain per kill?"

"The rabbit from earlier gave me 2.3 experience points, but why is the number more specific?" I shrugged as I took another bite of rabbit. However, after I spoke, Aros gasped. If he was holding a rabbit in his own hand, I have no doubt that he would've dropped it.

"2.3? Interesting! That means," Aros gasped. Then he stopped and took a moment to calculate a quick problem. He looked back at me, then shouted, "15 percent! You gain 15 percent more experience per kill! That's SS rank!"

"It's only fifteen percent, though. It doesn't feel like much," I shrugged.

"While your rank gives you more XP per kill, it helps in another way as well," Aros said.

I nodded, still unsure of what Aros was trying to point out to me.

"Rank doesn't just change how much XP we get per kill. It also changes how strong we become every time we level up. For F ranked intelligent beings, they are always stuck at their base strength. They can't become stronger, no matter what they do. E ranked beings gain only one point per level up. The progress is slow, but it's there. By the time they're level 5, they're main and secondary stat will only be 4 points higher than what it was when they were level 1. How much did your stats rise when you leveled up?"

"Each rose by fifteen points," I told Aros as I slowly understood the point he was trying to make, "My stats will rise by fifteen points every time?

"Yes," Aros nodded, "If you want more points, there are rare curios that can increase the amount of XP you get per kill. However, the main point is that because of this difference, there exists a major gap in strength between low ranked individuals and high ranked individuals."

"That's a bit unfair," I chuckled, "Wait, but what about you? You're F rank, so will you always be like this?"

"My strength is connected to the dungeon core," Aros told me, "Because you created me as a Dungeon Boss, I'm considered a monster, but I have the potential to grow stronger. I don't have a level, but my strength will always correspond with the core level."

"Wait, doesn't that mean intelligent races will have a hard time comparing their progress to others?" I asked. Aros nodded.

"Yes. The strength of a level 100 D ranked warrior won't match with the strength of a level 100 S ranked warrior. Because of this, it's not a good idea to look at other ranks to compare your progress. However, you're not human, so it doesn't really matter to you in the first place."

"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked, confused. Aros sighed, then opened his mouth to explain.

"Dragons are naturally stronger than humans. What is your HP right now?" Aros asked. I quickly opened my status to check, then looked back to him and answered.

"85, why?" I told him. Aros chuckled.

"A level 2 human of your rank will only have 25 HP, as most humans start with 10 HP," Aros said, "Almost all humans won't even reach 20 HP when they're level 2. I'm not sure whether you should be considered lucky or a cheater."

Aros looked up at the room's ceiling as he spoke, his voice full of awe, "Although, if you can create all of this without even using an ounce of magic, I suppose your strength fits your achievements."

"Amazing," I breathed. I hadn't even noticed because I was busy listening to Aros, but I had already finished eating my rabbit meat. I quickly stood up and threw the stick into the fire to burn, then opened my status.

I didn't even bother to look at the middle window, instead choosing to turn to my dungeon panel. I looked to the top left corner, then read the words written there.

﹃

Available DP: 121

Current DP Gain: 10 per day

﹄

"Good," I said as I turned to the throne. 100 DP was what I needed to upgrade the core, but I already had a bit more. If I had the option, I would be able to get some clothes with what I had left over. If it didn't have that option, then I would just explore the forest until I found a village or a city. By then, I would hopefully have killed enough rabbits to get a decent amount of fur to wear around my privates.

In the last three days, I had killed a total of nine rabbits, three a day for meals, so even my experience bar had gone up.

﹃

Level: 2

XP: 20.7/200

﹄

It wasn't enough to level up, obviously, but I wasn't really trying to level up in the first place. I would lose precious training time if I was only focused on leveling, so I decided to take thing slow.

Once I reached the core room, I quickly put my palm against the core and watched as the expected prompt appeared in front of me.

『 Upgrade Dungeon Core for 100 DP? 』

『 Yes 』『 No 』

I quickly pressed the 『 Yes 』button. Not a second later, I watched as the core beneath my palm began to shimmer brightly. The light created from the core was enough to almost blind me, so I shielded my eyes with my hand as I waited for the core's evolution to finish. The light only lasted for a moment. Soon after the light disappeared I looked back at the core, but didn't see any physical changes.

﹃

Dungeon Core of 『 Nameless 』Dungeon has leveled up!

Dungeon Core is now Level: 2

Dungeon Boss Aros is now rank E

Please choose a specialized reward!

『 Apparel Shop 』『 More Mobs 』『 Discounted Prices 』

﹄

Without a moment's hesitation, I quickly clicked the 『 Apparel Shop 』option. After my finger left the panel, another window popped up.

『 『 Apparel Shop 』 has been unlocked 』

This was it! If I had any chance of getting something good to wear, it was going to be found in here! I closed the upgrade window and returned to the normal dungeon panel. By now, there were now four buttons on the bottom of the map.

『 Environment 』, 『 Mobs 』, 『 Traps 』, and 『 Apparel 』. I quickly clicked on the『 Apparel 』 option and watched as the map above the buttons disappeared. A small list replaced it, along with the number '2' atop the list. Most likely, this was the Dungeon Core's level. Both the『 Environment 』 section and the『 Traps 』section lacked this, as it was only found in the『 Mobs 』list. This told me that the apparel would grow in quality as the dungeon grew in strength.

I looked at the list and began to read the options. As expected, it was full of different items that would go on my body. Some of the items on the list were rings, while a few were necklaces. However, I was interested in clothes. I scrolled through the list while searching for the perfect thin to wear, hoping to find the perfect clothes for me.

Whenever I would find something that looked interesting, I would appraise it and look at it's stats. When I found something that looked good and had good stats, I would look at it's price and put it in the growing pile of good options.

After an hour of searching, I eventually found what I wanted to wear.

﹃

Dark Merchant's Suit: Rank E

Item Type: Clothing

+5 HP

+20 MP

20 AC

20% discount for human-sold items

Once worn by a demon merchant, this suit stands as a memorial to his shrewd business strategies and strong reputation. However, demons aren't just merchants. As a demon from hell, this merchant was known for his strong magic spells that turned any nuisance to ash

﹄

I didn't care much for the item description, only for the stats and the appearance. The suit was split into two articles, the shirt, and a double-layered vest atop it. The shirt itself was extremely light in color but seemed to be made out of a strange material that had the feel of silk, but the appearance of the ordinary fabric.

Atop the white shirt was a double-layered vest with both the appearance and feel of top quality silk. The top of the vest was black, though only the grey bottom vest was buttoned together. Underneath the vest was a wide black tie.

My pants were made out of a similar style to my shirt, though they were a bit tougher. My boots were styled in a similar way to ordinary dress shoes, but they seemed as nimble as combat boots. Overall, the whole design of the suit made me look fierce and intimidating while holding an aura of intelligence deserving of somebody leading a prospective army of subordinates.