I watched a scene that was almost comic in its improbability.

"H-h-how do you know our sacred language, vile creature?!" The kobold exclaimed, though to my ear it sounded like random barking.

"I'm the one who's asking questions here, pup," the cute fluffy cat declared in an authoritative tone. I understood her words, but in fact, they were just woof-woof and arf-arf.

"Whii!" The dog yelped strangely. "Y-yes, I understood!"

She's surprisingly persuasive, I noted. I expected more resistance, considering how the kobolds usually treat kitties.

The following five minutes were closer to interrogation than a conversation. The doggie revealed all of his Tribe "secrets", pretty much all of which were useless to us. Their Chief Shaman was Velgo the Shadowborn, a monster who wielded magic, and he had five Elite Guards, each of which was slightly stronger than the Level 10 doggie I had slain before.

The information about how they left their old world to come to Earth was interesting but didn't really matter for the time being.

"If this Velgo sends all of these guards or comes on his own, I'll be in trouble," I commented. "Moreover, there are freaking hundred of them. Doesn't it mean that I'm screwed as long as twenty of them rush here at once?"

I asked, hoping that Ciesta would translate my question to him. Instead, she answered herself.

"Think about it," she said in English, "if monsters could freely move inside Dungeons, how would Players challenge them then?"

"You have a point." I nodded. "Does it mean that there are restrictions put on them?"

"Of course there are," she confirmed as if it was completely obvious. "Some of the restrictions are put there by the Genesis System, and some are the result of the Dungeon's nature. The one who becomes a Dungeon Keeper can't leave the Core Zone. No more than ten percent of the Dungeon’s total Minions can stray outside the Zones designated to them at the same time. In our case, that should be ten. Of course, there are always some exceptions, but they don't happen in Bronze or Steel Rank Dungeons."

"What about the dead ones?" I asked something that would determine our future course of action.

"They still count as taking up the so-called Unbound Slots until they revive. In other words, as long as you kill or contain two more kobolds sent to get you, you are safe for the time being. I'd estimate that it would take three days at a minimum for even one of them to respawn."

"W-what are you talking about, mistress?" The kobold, who had watched us from the sidelines without understanding a word, asked. "Please, don't kill me. I've never hurt a cat in my whole life, I swear!"

"What do you plan to do with him now that he told us everything important he knew?" Ciesta inquired, ignoring the poor lad.

"I k-know some basics of dog t-training, so how about we keep him as our pet?" I pleaded in a tone like a kid asking his mom to keep a puppy. The only difference was that it was a grown man who expressed his desire to keep a monster to a talking cat. It was almost the same thing, really.

"Good luck with being bitten to death in your sleep, son," she said without hiding the sarcasm in her voice.

"T-thanks, mom, I'll treat him well!" I exclaimed with an exaggerated expression of joy.

Jokes aside, I really didn't want to kill this fellow—he had suffered enough. Of course, someone could say that it was a super stupid decision, but I believed that the kobold still had his uses. At the minimum, I could continue using his axes—I liked how they felt in my hand.

It would be easier to decide if I could talk to him just like Ciesta.

"I never said that you can't do that." She surprised me with a sudden revelation.

"H-how?!" I gave her an expectant look.

She rolled her feline eyes. "Check your System Shop, silly."

The fact that I hadn't done it after getting the Gear almost escaped my mind. I hoped that it had some useful stuff to help me out and that it would be cheap enough for me to afford.

Welcome to the System shop!

Player Tier: F (next at 250 CP)

Funds: 60 LEC

"What's the deal with Player Tiers?" I asked the supposed Guide replacement.

Encycloesta did her job by explaining, "Genesis System grades its contributors from F to S, based on their contributions, though there are grades past the S tier, too."

"Strange, my Tutorial Grade was triple F," I mentioned. "Isn't just one F supposed to be much better?"

"Tutorial Grade is a different thing altogether," she answered curtly.

With zero Contribution Points, I had the lowest Tier, but thanks to killing the monsters, I also had some Essence Coins to spend. The Shop itself had a few different sub-sections.

Gear Upgrade

Gear Modules

Artifacts

Consumables

Sell

When I chose the first option, disappointment waited for me.

To unlock the Gear Upgrade option, you need to raise your Customer Tier to F+.

Okay then, next.

Gear Modules (F):

Improved Translation Module v0.1—30 LEC

Improved Map Module v0.1—50 LEC

Improved Storage Module v0.1—80 LEC

Improved Identification Module v0.1—120 LEC

From reading the description of each upgrade, I figured out that they enhanced the default functions of the Gear. The first Module allowed the user to "learn" a new language but only one. The second one gave more detailed maps. The third one seemed to be the most useful, though—giving additional space to store even Essence-less items. The last enabled the user to see the Concept Weakness of the identified creatures, which was probably the option most helpful in combat but useless for the current me. Now, though, I was more interested in the translator, plus it was the cheapest choice.

"Do you think I should choose the Language module?" I glanced at the cat. "It seems that I can choose only two at the current Gear Tier."

"Do whatever you want—you'll gain more slots later anyway," she said. "But in your place, I would just finish off the pup and leave this boring Dungeon to explore the world outside."

"T-the world with dragons flying around and bipedal wolf riders ransacking everything?" I remembered what I had seen from the window. "I'm not sure that I'm ready for that yet."

"That's true as well," she confirmed. "You are incredibly weak for a Player your Level. If not for the firearms, you'd struggle even with this trembling pup."

I looked at the person in question, and it seemed that he had calmed down a bit. The kobold sat down with his back leaning on the wall, seemingly contemplating something.

I decided to first check the rest of the Shop and then make the decision.

Artifacts (F):

Slash-Type Melee Weapon (Bronze, Common)—30 LEC

Blunt-Type Melee Weapon (Bronze, Common)—35 LEC

Pierce-Type Melee Weapon (Bronze, Common)—40 LEC

Mana Staff (Bronze, Common)—50 LEC

Mana Wand (Bronze, Common)—60 LEC

Concept Grimoire (Bronze, Common)—70 LEC

Physical Resistance Suit (Bronze, Common)—100 LEC

Magical Resistance Suit (Bronze, Common)—140 LEC

Anti-Projectile Cloak (Bronze, Common)—150 LEC

Stealth Cloak (Bronze, Uncommon)—200 LEC

Personal EF Generator (Bronze, Uncommon)—300 LEC

"Ugh, t-that's a lot of things to explore," I blurted. "And it seems kind of expensive."

I scrolled through the displayed items as if I was window shopping. In fact, I kind of did exactly that.

One item at the bottom of the list was especially interesting to me.

Stealth Cloak (Bronze, Uncommon)—A cloak that uses common Akashic technology to make you partially invisible to parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Additionally, it's enhanced with Loneliness Concept to additionally decrease the chance that the user will be noticed. As long as the Cloak is active and you wear its hood, your voice is hushed, allowing you to cast without making a sound. Its defensive capabilities are relatively weak.

Durability: 30/30

EM (Essence Mass): 5

I even contemplated if I should save up the Coins to get it ASAP, but it would be silly—the stronger I was, the faster I earned money.

It was peculiar that if I tried to choose melee weapons, I could decide their shape. For example, for the slash-types, things like swords and katanas were available. The size of the weapon also could decrease or increase the default price, as well as its durability and one more characteristic.

"What's the Essence Mass?" Each of the items had one.

"Do you remember about the Equipment and Storage Capacity?" Seeing me nodding in confirmation, she continued. "Essence Mass is what that Capacity is talking about."

It meant that with my current Gear Tier, if I Equipped the Stealth Cloak, nothing else could be used.

With my current assets, I had only melee weapons, a staff, or a wand to choose from, but the latter two required Mana to use, so they were unusable to me.

Frustrated from being so poor, I checked the next part of the shop.

Consumables (F):

Inferior Physical Attribute Potion—25 LEC

Inferior Mental Attribute Potion—50 LEC

Inferior Fate Attribute Potion—100 LEC

Inferior Health Potion—100 LEC

For something named inferior, those items really cost a whole fortune. The effects were worth it to an extent, though.

Inferior Physical Attribute Potion—An alchemic compound that, upon consumption, enhances your body by stimulating your Life Code. It increases the lower of your physical Attributes by one. If your Body and Nerve are of equal value, the Potion improves the former first. The increase counts as being caused by training, so it can’t go past your Racial Limit nor increase it. One-time use. You can only get up to ten points in each of the Attributes using Inferior Potions. If you've already reached the limit with either Body or Nerve, the Potion would automatically improve the other. Requires around one minute to absorb.

EM: 0.1

"One-forth of a Level for half of my whole wealth?" I muttered to myself. "Thanks but no thanks."

"You should buy it, Lexy," Ciesta disagreed. "There's something I forgot to tell you."

I raised my brows. "And why I'm not even surprised?"

"You can't increase your Nerve more than by four times of your Body value," she explained. "It works for all Physical and Mental Attributes. So with your Body being equal to seven, you can't raise your Nerve past twenty-eight. But you probably should."

It made sense—you couldn't infinitely improve just one aspect of your body while ignoring the other. I wasn't sure if this restriction was enforced by the System to prevent negative side-effects or if it just couldn't do it physically, but it didn't matter.

I checked my current Attributes.

Body: 7 (-1)

Nerve: 23 (-1)

Mind: 13

Spirit: 21

Fate: 18

Free Attribute Points: 8

For the time being, I didn't feel the need to invest in my mental stats, as they wouldn't help me in fights. And as I wanted to get the one-hundred Perks, I couldn't waste the precious FAP on my Body. The problem was—I needed to increase my fighting power right now, so training was out of options.

"With thirty-two in Nerve and eight in Body, the Truthwalker requirement for Physical Attributes would be accomplished," I voiced my thoughts. "I can probably get another two points from working on my Stalking, though it shouldn't be necessary. Either way, I only need to gain just another two Levels and increase my Fate for another time, and the Essence Conversion should be mine. Though if I also buy a Mental Potion, even one Level should be enough."

I found that if I just talked out loud without intending to communicate with someone in particular, my voice was completely normal.

I wonder if doing this helps to level up Communication.

"It should help, yes," the cat confirmed, "as long as others can hear you. Talking to yourself while alone would be useless, though. Anyway, you need to hurry up, Lexy. Did you forget that you are in the enemy territory?"

"B-but didn't you say yourself t-that only up to ten monsters can leave so far?" I asked, frowning. "Their boss can only send two more kobolds, and if they die, h-he won't have a chance to do anything else to me for a while. Why would he rush things?"

Ciesta sighed. "You really don't understand how these beasts think, do you? You dared to hurt his subordinates, so it's only natural that he would want to retaliate as soon as possible. If it was an option, the Chief would be already here himself. As he's bound to the Core Zone, he probably already sent his best warrior to hunt you down."

"A-aren't are you e-exaggerating things a bit?" My hand unintentionally touched the Colt in my pocket. "P-plus, just one or two enemies shouldn't be hard to avoid or kill."

"Well, I warned you," Ciesta said plainly.

Honestly, her words made me a bit anxious but also excited. If there were two kobolds even stronger than the Level 10 I had fought before, things could get risky. Plus, I only had three magazines of ammo left.

Without wasting a moment, I chose the Physical Potion on the Shop screen and confirmed the transaction. I'd like to first check the last part of the Shop Menu—the option to sell my own items, but I doubted that I had anything that would be accepted by the System.

Inferior Physical Attribute Potion is delivered to your Storage.

I opened my Gear screen and, with a simple mental command, proceeded to another Menu.

Storage

Funds: 35 LEC

Capacity: 0.1/15

Items: Inferior Physical Attribute Potion (1)

I tried to select the only object I had stored, but nothing happened.

"Touch your Gear, first." What would I do without my all-knowing cat?

As soon as I placed my finger on the place where the bangle-like Gear was supposed to be, it was as if I could see the existence of an invisible box inside of my wrist. It was a strange sensation to describe—it was as if an image was imprinted inside my mind, and I could manipulate it with my imagination. A single speck of light floated at the bottom of the box, and I willed it to be brought to the real world.

A small portal-like disk of light appeared on my wrist, and from it, a thin cylindrical flask made of steel-like alloy emerged. I took the item with my fingers—it was barely three inches long. After pondering for a moment, I went to seek a room further into the corridor, away from the almost disintegrated corpse and the injured kobold. I took the bag with the used shotgun and empty magazines, just in case I'd think of a way to use them. Both of my Colts were already loaded, and the ammo storage was in the pocket of my pants.

Just as Ciesta said, there was a chance that an enemy would come looking for me, and the Potion's description mentioned that it would take some time to digest. I had a hunch that it meant that I would be in a vulnerable state for some time, so hiding myself first was a must.

The cat followed me, leaving the doggie alone to his own devices. I doubted that he could escape far with his legs heavily injured, and even if he did, it wouldn't pose much of a problem.

I entered a VIP patient's room and locked the door. I sat down on the bed, and Ciesta jumped on the pillow nearby.

"Let me warn you—it will be painful," she said while taking a comfortable position.

I suppressed my curiosity about why that was the case and removed the lid from the flask. Inside was a white viscous liquid without any scent. Preparing myself for the worst, I gulped everything down in a moment. My taste buds didn't detect any flavor as my tongue absorbed the fluid before I could swallow it.

For a second, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, I fell on the bed, my eyes teary from how spicy my tongue felt. It was as if I just ate the hottest Infinity Chili pepper in existence. That was just the beginning, though.

My tongue was the first to get set on fire, but then the rest of my body followed. As if someone was trying to cook me from the inside out, my muscles and organs heated up to a painful degree.

I tightly closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. If only I could allow myself to scream to my heart's content, maybe it wouldn't be so intolerable. But I didn't want to show weakness. Also, there was the risk that the "assassin" that had been sent after me had already arrived at the twenty-eight floor, and my voice would be an obvious giveaway. The spared doggie hadn't seen where I went, so it would take the attacker at least a couple of minutes to find me if I stayed quiet.

I curled up my fingers into the fists so tightly that my nails pierced the skin. I couldn't feel it, though, as the burning pain in each of my muscles overshadowed any other sensation.

The whole process barely lasted one minute, but it felt like hours to me. When everything was over, my whole body was covered in sweat. I breathed deeply and rapidly, trying to recover as soon as I could.

"The bigger the difference between Attributes, the more unpleasant the process is," Ciesta commended with a hint of empathy. "You'd barely feel any pain if your Body and Nerve were equal. And if you had raised the latter to its absolute possible limit, it would have been even worse."

"B-b-but. . ." I mumbled while trying to catch my breath, "d-distributing t-the free points. . . doesn't hurt at all. . ."

"That's the System for you," she said as if this explanation was more than enough. The cat jumped from the bed and approached the door.

"It seems that we have a guest on the floor," she whispered while turning invisible. "You'd better increase your Nerve and buy a weapon from the shop before going out. Whatever you'll get from the System should be better than those stone toys you'd borrowed from the pup."

I nodded as I stood up from the bed. Surprisingly, I felt even better than before consuming the Potion. I noted that the flask that contained the liquid had already disintegrated and then checked the notifications. Two pleasant surprises waited for me.

You've done well tolerating intense pain! Your Spirit is increased by 1.

Your Life Code has been stimulated by a Potion. Your Body is increased by 1.

You've productively talked to another person for a while!

Communication reaches lvl 5. Your FATE is increased by 2.

Apparently, the Attributes could be increased on their own even without the corresponding Skills. I wasn't sure if having my whole body burn from the inside out was worth the minor increase, but any advantage was welcome.

With my ear at the door, I attentively monitored the sounds outside the room while opening the Shop Menu again. I could hear two kobolds talking to each other far in the distance.

I need to think of a plan in case this opponent is out of my league. . . I prepared myself for the worst while hoping that this wouldn't be the case.