Wolf

Three days later, on the ninetieth floor

“Just-” I grunt while swiping my claws through one of the dozens of piles of molten goop around me, causing it to freeze almost instantly.

“-a little-” I continue as I spin around and claw through another.

“-more!!” I finish with a shout while gripping my claws and yanking them back towards me, pulling the last remnants of lifeforce out of all of the annoying blobs and causing them to freeze to death around me.

As if on cue, the notification that I’ve been waiting for ever since entering this floor finally appears on my interface, making a wide grin spread across my face because of it.

System Notification

Congratulations!

You are now level 1000!

The grin on my face continues to widen as another notification follows shortly after the first before I shout, “Finallyyyy!!”

System Notification

Congratulations!

You have now unlocked your soul-bound ability’s fifth effect!

It’s about freaking time! I’ve been waiting for this ever since Diane told me about it!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ice Reaper

First effect:

This ability allows the user to create and manipulate the ice element within a certain radius determined by the level of the ability.

The amount of ice element that can be created and manipulated is also limited by both the level of the user and the user’s own stamina.

Second effect:

This ability allows the user to use the ice element within a certain radius to heal themselves.

The amount the user can heal, as well as the pace at which they can heal, are both determined and limited by the level of the user, their own stamina, and the amount of ice element in the area.

Third effect:

This ability raises the user’s physical abilities and natural recovery when surrounded by the ice element.

The amount that the user’s physical abilities and natural recovery is raised is determined by the amount of ice element in the area, ranging from a 5% increase to a 25% increase.

Fourth effect:

This ability allows the user to drain the health and stamina of anything nearby the user that has health or stamina at a speed dependent on the difference between the user’s level and the object or creature of which the user is draining’s level.

While this power is being used, the overall temperature of whatever is being drained decreases as a small fraction of ice element is automatically materialized within their body to replace the lost stamina or health.

Note: The ice element is immediately used up due to being inside of the body of something that is not immune to it, therefore decreasing their temperature.

Fifth effect:

The one soul-bound to this ability gains the powers of an ice elemental shifter, allowing them to temporarily shift either their entire body or singular parts of it into the ice element. They are also able to add the ice element from their surroundings to their body while they are shifted.

When this effect is in use, the ability holder’s life-force is tied to the ice element that their body has shifted to and added to itself, making it so that the ability holder will only die once all of the ice element currently attached to them has been eliminated.

Note: Ice Harbingers may shift into both their variant ice element and the regular ice element. However, shifting into the variant ice element requires nearly twice as much stamina to do and maintain than the regular ice element.

Note: When shifted, all equipment is sent to an alternate dimension where its effects remain active without having to have them on the user’s physical body.

Close

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Yes!!! It’s just like she said!

If there’s ever been a time I was happy about being a reaper, it’s now!

I’ve only actually seen one elemental shifter in my life so far, and I didn’t even fight it. But I did see a recording of it completely destroying one of the competitors.

A shiver runs down my spine as I remember coming back to my body in the middle of the desert on the fifth floor theme and finding myself staring at the thing from the other side of my ice dome.

I would’ve been a lot more worried back then if I really knew how freaking strong that thing was.

And why was there an elemental shifter in such an early floor anyways? Even if it was a relatively docile one unless provoked.

I shake my head at the thought before closing my eyes and focusing on the instinctual knowledge that always fills my head after getting a new skill or ability effect.

Several seconds pass in silence, with the only noise around me being that of Sapphire’s occasional movements and the lava flowing around the cavern until I finally open my eyes and raise a hand in front of my face.

More time passes and the previous happiness that was on my face is soon replaced with a frown.

Okay, this is actually difficult.

I narrow my eyes on my hand while struggling very hard to do what my instincts are telling me to, but it’s incredibly difficult.

What the hell? Normally it’s easy to do whatever effects my skills or abilities give me…

So why is this so…

I shake my head at the thought before redoubling my efforts.

To elemental shift, the first and most important step is to merge ice element into my cells. But for some reason, I just can’t seem to-

System Message

This is an automatic message from the System’s creator to any reaper that is able to make it to level 1000.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

“Hello, child.

For those of you reapers who are not participants in an Administrator Dungeon Run, you may be wondering what a reaper is. If this is the case, then select the Reaper button at the bottom of this notification and an explanation will appear before you.

Moving on, this message is to explain what happens once a reaper reaches level 1000.

To put it simply, some of your System-related powers will break.

This is a sign of the reaper breaking away from the System’s guidance, because even the System of my own design cannot guide and control the powers of my descendants.

The process will be extremely slow until you fully awaken as a Reaper, with maybe one skill breaking every few weeks or so.

And when I say breaking, it means that, for the active skills and abilities in which you yourself need to activate in order to use, you will no longer be able to use the System’s assistance for them.

However, this does not include passive skills as those have already been used to adapt your body itself, nor does it include manipulation, creation, or other such skills and abilities in which the user – you – directly control the power without any assistance from the System.

My advice would be to begin learning how to use all of your skills without the help of the System and focus only on getting new passive skills from now on.

Lastly, your elemental shifting power.

Elemental shifting is a species trait and not a power that can be given.

You have it because you are a reaper, and it is a power that is incredibly difficult to learn on its own, even with the very limited assistance you may obtain from the System before that goes away.

Thanks to these factors, all reapers gain access to a one-time use menu where they may wake me up and make a request for tutorage.

Let me clarify.

This is not something all of my descendants deserve.

If I do not believe you have earned the right to have my legacy, then I will not accept your request.

But at the same time, if you do happen to catch my interest in the future, regardless of if you’ve made a request or not, I may give you tutorage anyways.

Sincerely,

The Reaper”

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Reaper Close

My jaw drops open slightly at the message before closing again a few seconds later, after I eventually select close on the message.

Following that, another notification appears stating that I’ve been given access to another menu.

I open up my status and stare at the menu for several seconds, only to shake my head and close it again.

That was… unexpected.