With the defeat of the monster Lucas was able to observe the cavern more carefully. It was an empty oval chamber with a diameter of more than a dozen meters. He saw two other tunnels beside the one from which he had come. One of the passages was to his left and the other to his right.

His elation from the victory started to decrease and he pondered how to proceed. This room is as far as I got the first time I was here and I don’t know what lies beyond. It is possible there are more powerful monsters or other dangers. I should not be blinded by my recent success, after all I don’t know anything about dungeons in this world.

When I was in this chamber before, there was a second creature somewhere close and it came and chased me right away. Those things look the same and there is no way to know if the one I killed now is the same one from back then.

Lucas decided to wait and see if another monster will also come this time. These beings may not be living creatures and since this is a dungeon it is possible that they respawn. If so I wouldn’t have to go further and take additional risks. Killing one or two every day is still going to be a good source of progress.

Soon he heard movement and another spider-like monster came out of the left passage. It looked identical to the previous ones.

Lucas engaged it in the middle of the chamber. After his recent victory he was more confident and tried a different tactic. This time he didn’t swing his weapons to keep it from approaching him.

He pointed the tip of his spear toward the floor and held his sword in front of him, poised to slash down. The being seemed unaware of his intentions and came toward him in its typical aggressive manner.

When it was very near to his leg he swung the sword down with all his power. This close, the monster was unable to evade completely and although it managed to save its body, two of its legs were cleaved.

The creature appeared unfazed and ready to pounce. Both of his weapons were very close to it and he could not strike from such a short distance, so he shoved it away with his spear.

The monster quickly regained its balance. Blood was dripping from its wounds and the severed legs started evaporating. It ignored its condition and lunged toward him again.

This is not normal behavior. Is it really not a living creature?

Lucas pointed his spear at it and tried to stab it several times. His technique was bad however and even with its mobility somewhat impaired, the creature avoided successfully.

It is time to end this. He decided to attack in the only way, which proved to be effective last time. Keeping it at bay with his sword, he gripped his spear at the one end. Than he used his longer weapon and assaulted the monster with wide sweeps.

The creature somehow managed to dodge the first attack, but its luck didn’t hold and it took a direct hit by the next strike. It was flung more than a meter away and while it was trying to regain its footing Lucas came close to it and slashed with his sword.

The forward part of the monster’s body was almost cleaved into two. It twitched a few times and started disappearing.

He stepped away and tried to control his heavy breathing. Although I am able to kill these things relatively easy, my combat skills seem to be rather bad. Someone who is well versed in historical martial arts could probably destroy them with a single move. I should start doing physical exercises and maybe also practice simple attacks like slashes and thrusts.

Lucas had to focus his attention on the place where the creature evaporated. After it vanished, an object looking like a small crystal was left on the stone floor.

Is it some kind of loot? He observed the item for a while and didn’t find any obvious danger. After coming closer to it, he prodded it gently with his spear and nothing happened. It may be something valuable.

Lucas remembered his experience with the mana crystals he had found earlier. He put his spear on the floor and brought his hand closer to the item without touching it. A foreign sensation appeared and he concentrated on it. Soon information flowed into his mind.

[Dungeon Token]

It is indeed like the mana crystals. The name doesn’t sound very threatening. It is probably not dangerous. Lucas decided to take the object. The moment he touched it, another message appeared in his head.

[Consume to increase level ?]

Well it seems I hit the jackpot this time. Should I accept? There is no indication how big the improvement will be. If it is minor and the dungeon token is worth a lot of money I will be at a loss.

No, I should not assume there is civilization nearby or that I will be able reach it and sell the item. In that case it is better to consume the token.

Lucas gave mental agreement. The token flashed and disappeared while a cascade of messages appeared in his mind and almost overwhelmed him. He spend dozens of seconds to sort the information.

You have reached level 9.

You have reached level 10.

You have reached level 11.

Minor Boon granted for reaching level 10. Boon Effects are:

+ 2 Strength

+ 3 Agility

+ 2 Endurance

+ 14 Attribute Points

+ 1 Skill Slot

+ Choose one of the following Skills to unlock:

[Neryan Light Avatar]:

-Create material entity which resembles yourself and is under your full control. The avatar requires constant Mana input in order to exist. The avatar is not capable of independent thinking. The avatar is capable of physical combat and can use all of your skills. The avatar cannot exist beyond certain distance from yourself (9 meters at Skill Level 1). The avatar takes 1.25 times less damage from light based sources. The Avatar takes 2.0 times more damage from dark based sources.

-School of Magic: Balance

-Governing Attribute: None

-Mana Focus required: None

-Skill Slots required: 5

-Activation Cost: 5 Mana

-Channeling Cost: 2 Mana per minute

-Activation Time: 6 seconds

-Special: Spend double amount of Mana to activate and reduce activation time by 3.0 times.

[Varxian Blood Bolt]:

-Hurl a destructive bolt of energy toward your enemies. The bolt deals 1.3 times more damage to the flesh of beings who possess blood. The bolt deals 1.4 times more damage to defenses created by Aural magic. The bolt can travel finite amount of distance after which it disappears (53 meters at Skill Level 1).

-School of Magic: Blood

-Governing Attribute: Mana Intensity

-Mana Focus required: Common

-Skill Slots required: 2

-Activation Cost: 1.5 Mana

-Activation Time: 3.5 seconds

-Special: Consume 10 milliliters of your blood to decrease activation cost by 3.0 times.

[Swords]:

-Channel your Mana into a sword to increase all damage you deal with it. Multiple swords can be enhanced at once, channeling Mana cost is on a per sword basis.

-School of Magic: Arcane

-Governing Attribute: None

-Mana Focus required: None

-Skill Slots required: 1

-Activation Cost: None

-Channeling Cost: 0.5 Mana per minute

-Activation Time: 1.0 seconds

If a choice is not made in the next 25 hours, a Skill will be randomly unlocked.

Wow, that is a lot of new information. Consuming the token was most definitely the right thing to do.

Lucas considered how to proceed.