Mana was different from ki, but they came from the same source, and had some similarities. It could be used to control the elements, and ki could also be used to control the elements, but it was mostly specialized in the physical body, unlike most sorcerers that had a high intelligence stat, and usually low strength, and endurance.

Most monsters that controlled mana were smart, and their bodies looked frail. There were some oddballs here and there that had a bulky body and also controlled mana, or even mixing mana, and ki together, making a mana-ki hybrid.

This mana-ki hybrid, Tai found out, was better than ki, and mana, but came at a cost. When Tai fought monsters that were using the energy hybrid, they would usually use an attack that dealt a lot of damage, but it would instantly tire the monsters out, meaning that this energy hybrid wasn't very efficient and used large amounts of energy.

Nonethless, Tai hypothesized that even though this energy wasn't very efficient, there was probably someone in the Aether Universe that focused on this energy and maybe they even made it more efficient.

You have reached the 8th level of the dungeon

Exploring the 8th level of the dungeon, the monsters were actually starting to pose a problem now, but not because they were strong individually, but because a lot more of them roamed in packs of great size, meaning that he was constantly bombarded with attacks.

This was where his Enhanced Senses skill came to play. The monsters all jumped on him, but Tai wasn't worried, no, he was calm. He took a deep breath to assess his situation.

Using his Enhanced Senses, his perception of time became slower. two to the left, their mouth open ready to bite his arm, one aiming for his right leg, three attacking from behind, and one that looked like the alpha in front of him, inches away from his face.

The monsters attacking him were large apes, and there were more up in the trees of the jungle that he was in, howling as they watched the fight.

Tai jumped to the right, dodging the attack of the ape aiming for his leg, the ones behind him, and the alpha. Forming his naginata in a split second, he slashed in a straight line at the monkeys on his left, killing them in one fell swoop.

Enhanced Senses has leveled up

+1 status point

The apes howled louder as they saw their kin die, wanting to avenge their brethren.

The alpha went first, jumping on Tai, but it was no use. It might've been an alpha here, and this was their territory, but it was too slow and too weak to be trying to attack Tai up close.

As the alpha was in the air, an aura covered the alpha that Tai instantly recognized. It was ki, but different from his red ki. The ki was white, but other than the color, it acted the exact same way as ki did.

Tai wanted to end the fight quickly, so he thrust his naginata at the alpha's heart, killing it. His naginata went through the alpha's corpse like a kebab, only this one was a heavy ape.

Discarding his weapon, Tai decided to try out the darkness chains that he had created the day before. Using the darkness, Tai created a swirling ball of chains and threw it at the middle of the apes.

The apes stared at the mysterious ball as chains started sprouting from the ball and reaching out for the nearest ape, and entangling it. The other apes were next as they were also grabbed by the chains and bound.

The apes tried to move, and get out of the chains, but Tai made it so if the creatures struggled after being captured, then the chains would tighten, so after a while of struggling, the apes couldn't even move anymore.

Now that they were all chained up, Tai swung his naginata, killing all the apes in one motion.

Polearm Proficiency has leveled up

+1 status point

The apes that were in the trees howled, angry by the killing of their kin, but they could do nothing about it. These apes weren't smart, but they weren't stupid, they knew that he was too strong for them, and that it was better to retreat, so they did.

Tai progressed throught the rest of the level fine, and since the monsters here weren't enough to seriously harm him, he was using only his darkness manipulation, making sharp tendrils from his darkness and killing any monster that decided to attack him.

██████ Darkness Constructs has leveled up

+1 status point

██████ Darkness Manipulation has leveled up

+1 status point

Finally, after about about two or three hours, Tai reached the 10th level. The monsters really were getting harder now, and he guessed that the 12th level was where he would really struggle, but for now, he decided to call it a day.

Tai was sweating like crazy, not because of fights, but because the 9th level was a hot desert that was even hotter than the desert that he had first appeared on. It even made his Heat Resistance level up a level or two.

Arriving at the edge of the dungeon, he found the door, and opened it, leaving the dungeon. Just to check if he could go back ot the 10th level without going through the first level and so on, he opened the dungeon door again, and he was met with a question from the system.

What level do you want to go to?

You have unlocked levels 1-10