*SLASH!!*

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

You have acquired your quest reward for the quest: [Cutting the Water-Knot, Part 8].

The giant crystal that could be called the "core" of the 8th floor collapsed after getting a huge cut in it. Curtesy of me. I picked up the ring that appeared with a flash of light and put it on my finger.

"The Ring of the Blocked River. This will be a great assist against the creature on the lower floors." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"It would be better not to fight anything at all!" - Garami

I complained to the fairy as I started running down the Dungeon path again now that my business on this floor was finished.

"...please understand that such "uninteresting" situations are far from what Goddess Alvatria wishes for." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"Am I some variety show!?" - Garami

"What is that? And do not snap at me, master! It is that goddess who has created this horrible situation! If master die, then I will die with you!" - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

Tch, that blasted goddess. She's making even a skill cry from despair. I also wanna cry! Rather, I am crying while running!

Let's summarize the situation: the Dungeon, or rather, the Disaster that this Dungeon is designed to become, is soon to "awaken". In response to that, the gods decided to evacuate the poor souls out of here. Except for me, because my "boss" thought it would be more interesting to let me stay and deal with some "loose ends" at the bottom of the Dungeon.

On the way, I also smashed the crystal on the 8th floor to complete the quest there for a piece of jewelry. Supposedly, it can block up to 7 Water-attacks of a high-enough strength. That will serve as a lifeline in the following battle. I hope...

After a marathon down the tunnels, I'd finally reached the 9th floor. Damn, I never wanted to return here. Why didn't I leave these caves when I first had the chance!?

...I can hear a low, rumbling noise from deeper inside this floor. That must be the "target" I need to get rid of. There's nothing else here due to the teleport trick. Even the giant snake has been removed, according to the fairy.

Almost instinctively, I climbed up the large wall that makes up the natural labyrinth of this floor. I've spent most of my time here up on these walls, so it's become a habit to flee to the high ground whenever possible. ...it went way easier now compared to then. Talk about showing one's growth.

Speaking of growth, what are my stats now? It's better to keep track of everything in my arsenal before heading into this final battle.

Name: Garami | [Migrant] Race: Stygian Executioner Gender: Female Level: 8/50 Traits: 4 Karma Value: -200 Main Class: Arachnid Assailant Lv.21 Sub Class: Weaver Lv.11 Sub Class: Demonic Rogue Lv.12 Skills: 74 Titles: 16 Blessings: 2 Aether Points: 26.0 HP: 167/169 MP: 343/348 SP: 102/168 STR: 240 VIT: 110 MAG: 195 RES: 134 SPD: 410 DEX: 423 INT: 120 LUC: 150 LP: 15

Skill List:

Skill List: Ability Skills: [Extra Health Lv.6] UP5 [Massive Mana Lv.7] UP5 [Minimized Mana Consumption Lv.6] UP5 [Mana Auto-Recovery Lv.35] UP6 [Increased Stamina Lv.6] UP5 [Greater Strength Lv.6] UP5 [Tougher Vitality Lv.6] UP5 [Speed Lv.30] UP6 [Dexterity Lv.38] UP6 Attack Skills: [Darkness Bullet Lv.26] UP5 [Darkness Daggers Lv.18] UP6 [Poison Ball Lv.7] NEW [Demon Claw Lv.8] UP6 [Web Bomb Lv.15] UP6 Magic Skills: [Heretic Magic Lv.6] UP5 [Healing Magic Lv.6] NEW [Magic Eye of Blindness Lv.6] NEW [Magic Eye of Weakness Lv.11] UP5 [Magic Eye of Deterioration Lv.12] UP5 [Summon Phantom: Rat King Lv.6] UP5 Crafting Skills: [Create Thread Lv.19] UP8 [Weaving Lv.12] UP5 [Tailoring Lv.6] UP5 Active Skills: [Aura of Darkness Lv.26] UP5 [Optical Cover Lv.21] UP6 [Sticky Limbs Lv.16] UP8 [Cutting Thread Lv.20] UP6 [Web Wings Lv.8] UP5 [Dreadful Menace Lv.6] UP5 [Spatial Storage Lv.16] UP6 Passive Skills: [Dagger Proficiency Lv.11] UP7 [Scythe Proficiency Lv.7] NEW [Rope Proficiency Lv.7] UP5 [Lurk Lv.42] UP7 [Aiming Lv.24] UP7 [Evasion Lv.8] UP5 [Parkour Lv.34] UP7 [Ambush Lv.21] UP6 [Sadistic Constitution Lv.13] UP5 [Throwing Lv.26] UP6 [Camouflage Lv.28] UP7 [Demonic Disguise Lv.6] UP5 [Climbing Lv.21] UP8 [Sleep Lv.33] UP8 [Dreamlike Form Lv.10] UP5 [Fear Reinforcement Lv.7] UP5 [Destruction Reinforcement Lv.7] UP5 [Concentration Lv.23] UP7 [Prediction Lv.22] UP7 [Parallel Thinking Lv.21] UP7 [Vital Point Knowledge Lv.16] UP6 [Language Adaptation] Perception Skills: [Gamemaster Lv.6] NEW [Detect Monster Lv.27] UP8 [Vision Reinforcement Lv.21] UP6 [Auditory Reinforcement Lv.20] UP6 [Olfactory Reinforcement Lv.15] UP6 [Tactile Reinforcement Lv.16] UP6 [Taste Reinforcement Lv.11] UP6 [Nightvision Lv.43] UP6 [Tracking Lv.22] UP6 [Danger Sense Lv.7] NEW [Sense of Direction Lv.34] UP7 [Magic Eye of Sight Lv.45] UP6 [Identification Lv.38] UP6 Resistance Skills: [Darkness Resistance Lv.12] UP6 Elements: [Lesser Darkness Element Lv.47] UP7 Monster Skills: [Demon's Strong Muscle Lv.7] UP5 [Demon's Spiritual Arts Lv.6] UP5 [Demon's Nimble Legs Lv.8] UP6 [Glow Web Lv.15] UP6 [Spider's Bite Lv.14] UP5 [Spider's Poison Lv.12] UP6 [Spider Threads Lv.45] UP6

Title List:

Title List: Achievement Titles: [Reincarnator] [Titan Killer] [Fearbringer] [Darkness Technique User] [Merciless] [Daredevil] [Destroyer] [Mystic Arts Master] ADVANCED [Rescuer] NEW [Mysterious Killer] NEW Hunting Titles: [Dread Spirit Genocider] ADVANCED [Monster Slaughterer] [Insect Slayer] [Beast Slaughterer] Status Titles: [Migrant] [True Chaos] NEW

...??? The AP is at...26!? How did......oh. Right. The free skill levels.

Multiple skills reached a level that's a multiple of 10 due to the 5 skill levels I got from the quest because I defeated the spider queen.

"Should I take any new skills before the battle?" I asked the fairy with a hushed voice, just in case the beast was nearby.

"Would a skill at Lv.1 be of any help here?" - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

Probably not. That was a stupid question of me.

Though, they're not all losses. The [Magic Eye of Blindness] that I bought recently can be used alongside another Magic Eye to bully those I look at even further. As its name suggests, this Magic Eye inflicts the "Blindness" ailment, and the skill is of the Light attribute. Perfect for someone like me who doesn't favor fighting fair and square, yet wants Light-based abilities.

But where's the target...*shiver*!? What was...crap!

*CRASH!*

A tail came out from nowhere and smashed the labyrinth wall. Not to pieces, but big cracks can be seen on the wall. Then that shiver just now must have been [Danger Sense]? The skill I got from the Arachnid Assailant class. The effect is much more noticeable now than before. Thank you, skill levels.

But oh man, oh man! That was too close! I was almost turned into tail pancakes there! Who's the cook? I've got a truck's worth of complaints here for them!!

Ah, over there. Giant snake with blue scales, horns that looks like a crown, and dead, fish-like eyes. That's the guy I'm looking for. Glavras. That bastard who scared me on the 10th floor the day I was reborn...hmm?

Something feels wrong here. That guy's acting almost like a robot. And those dead eyes of his, is he under someone's control?

"...!? Master! I cannot Identify Glavras' status!" - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"Come on! That's your sole job here! Do it right! ...whoops!" I said to the fairy before dodging Glavras' tail again.

I had the fairy synchronize with the other compatible skills starting with [Identification] while running down to this floor, but now she's failing already? Meanwhile, Glavras is trying to climb up the wall. Hey, stop it! This thing has a weight limit!

"No, that is not it! Glavras does not have any status to Identify! It is as if someone has removed all his powers related to the System!" - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

While I was giving the fairy half my attention, the other half was used to throwing a [Poison Ball] at Glavras' eye. The poison did...unexpectedly more damage than I thought it would. Glavras fell to the ground while rolling around in pain.

"...I got it! Glavras must have left his body!" - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"Talk so people can understand you. Did he shed his skin or something?" - Garami

Because a skill that creates a doppelganger from shedding one's skin feels like something a giant snake would have.

"No, it seems more like his soul left his body somehow, and the body is being moved by some unknown force." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"Ok. But how does that relate to the lack of stats?" - Garami

"Stats comes from the strength of the soul, obviously." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

That's new to me. So the level-ups is that our souls get stronger? Then again, if only the body got stronger, then it would be strange that we retain our old skills and stats after evolving.

"Oh, here he comes again." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"I know," I said before jumping away from the jaws of the beast that came at me, but failed and had to eat rocks instead (literally).

While the big boss was busy spitting out dirt, I tried throwing some [Darkness Daggers] at him. They barely made a scratch on his scales. Tch.

"Even if the stats disappeared along with the soul, the body's natural strength, speed, and durability do not change." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"So in other words, if he had weaker stats than his body, things would have been easier?" - Garami

"No way that is true. Stats only work when they are higher than your natural abilities. Though too high stats are too difficult for the body to use, that is a very rare example." - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

"Fancy knowing, but that's not helpful at the moment!" - Garami

I threw some [Web Bombs] at the snake's head, but he busted himself out in just a second. What a monster. The poison seems to work, so maybe I should just throw it into his mouth? Considering his size...how many [Poison Balls] do I need? A hundred?

While I was planning my next move, Glavras started to flee...hey! Who said that's allowed! ...and that there is even more illegal! Don't climb the walls from a distance where I can't hit you!

Before I could run over there and knock the snake off the walls with another [Poison Ball] at its eyes or wherever that would make him hurt, Glavras had managed to get on top of the walls. Did you already forget about the weight limitations I told you about!? And don't come over here!

Glavras slithered his way over the top of the wall toward me, so I fled. Without honor and shame. Stats or no stats, this is a giant monster snake we're talking about! I'm gonna hit him when he's down.

I fled over the walls, making sure to take the path shown by the fairy across the less wide walls. The plan, or rather, my hope, is that the top-heavy snake (all of him is big and heavy though) would fall off the walls, or that they crumble from his weight. But he's more nimble than I expected. Tch!

Before long, Glavras was starting to get too close, so I jumped down and shot a string of webbing at the very same walls I'd been running on top of. Yup, I'm taking after New York's friendly neighbor. Don't sue me. My life's at stake here!

It's no big deal swinging from web to web like this. I've practiced in my free time, even as a Grey Demon. And as I hoped, Glavras followed me down to the ground level. I made a sharp turn around a corner and climbed up the walls while Glavras couldn't see me and plastered the corridor with all the [Web Bombs] I could muster at a short notice. Even the spare ones from my Storage are being used here. It's a bargain sale on webbing!

Glavras didn't waste much time and came after me from around the corner. But haste makes waste, my stupid snake. And with "waste", I mean "getting plastered with webbing". This is far from enough to keep him trapped for long, but it's long enough.

I took out a certain weapon from my Storage. A black scythe, almost as big as I'm tall, with a rusty-red grip, and a blade made out of cold, grey metal. The dread scythe shares its appearance with a ring on my finger, which is made out of dark-grey metal with a gem that looks like it is made out of a swirly, black fog that is solidified into a sphere.

The weapon is not as big as the trial scythe I tested during the Warrior-training in the mansion. In addition, despite its appearance, it's quite light and easy to swing. Its main purpose is to be a magic-type weapon after all.

"Dark Enrich!" - Garami

With the chant, rather, the keyword, the ring on my hand glowed with a dark-colored light, and a huge, black aura formed on the scythe's blade. I jumped down from the wall toward Glavras who was busy getting free from the web and slashed at his throat.

As if ridiculing my Daggers from before, the scythe tore through Glavras' scales and flesh as if they were paper, leaving a blood fountain behind. I didn't wanna get soiled, so I fled to the top of the walls again.

"......confirmed! Glavras' life signals have completely disappeared! The transport has been activated!" - Avatar of [Gamemaster]

The fairy shouted as she looked at Glavras..., at Glavras' corpse down below. It seems that killing something without a soul doesn't give you any EXP. There are no new level-up notifications yet, despite the fairy assuring me that Glavras is dead.

Along with her words, a black magic circle-looking thing appeared underneath my feet. Please don't send me to hell or something under the pretense that it's "a place fitting for a demon"...

Right before my view was filled with a black light, in the direction where the entrance from the tenth floor should be located, I thought I could see the rocks there...melt? But before I could register what was going on over there, I had finally managed to escape the Water-Knot.

...and just in time too.