Chapter 8 - War Shadow. (Patreon)

When Kael reached the sixth floor, the first monster he encountered was one called a “Frog Shooter.” It was a large, frog-like monster that immediately shot its tongue toward Kael as soon as it spotted him.

Kael teleported to the side of the frog and drove his sword into it.

The frog's skin wasn't tough, and his sword pierced it with ease. Disgusting sounds echoed as the blade tore through the frog's insides. The creature was incredibly stupid and slow, so it couldn't do anything to stop him.

Once again, a single attack was enough to kill his opponent.

Kael's confidence was through the roof. He wore a smile the entire time.

Without a single drop of sweat running down his body, Kael drank some water before examining the Dungeon's structure. Just like on the fifth floor, the Dungeon's walls had a slightly greenish hue.

The place was surprisingly well-lit.

“But the smell is different. It feels more humid. I can smell plants, even though there aren't any plants anywhere,” Kael murmured.

He knew the smell of grass very well, since he used to work in the fields. And he could smell it in this place.

“Smelling something like this would be normal in Rivira or from the nineteenth floor onward. But here?”

Although the smell made him somewhat uncomfortable, Kael decided not to think too much about it. Instead, he continued onward, searching for more monsters.

However, he didn't find any monsters. Instead, he came across a group of adventurers.

A woman and three men.

Kael recognized the woman. She was the one he'd asked for help.

The woman remembered Kael and gave him a serious look, but he didn't care about her in the slightest and said nothing. He continued walking without looking back.

Unlike him, the woman turned around. She watched Kael's back and thought, 'What is he doing here? Did he manage to join a Familia? Well, if he's here, he must have received a Falna.'

“Hey, what are you looking at?” one of the men asked.

“Nothing. I saw something interesting.”

“Something interesting?”

“Yeah.”

“All right, then…” The man looked confused.

Kael, unaware that the woman was thinking about him, continued onward. Several minutes passed, but he didn't encounter a single monster.

“That group must have killed all the monsters around here.”

Tsk!

Kael clicked his tongue and opened his status window.

Name: Kael

Title: Teleporter

Familia: Hestia

Level: 1 (1,114/100,000)

Strength (STR): I 10 (52)

Endurance (END): I 10 (45)

Dexterity (DEX): I 10 (56)

Agility (AGI): I 10 (62)

Magic (MAG): I 10 (49)

Abilities: Teleportation (EX) LV1 / Swordsmanship LV1

“I need to ask Hestia to update my Falna as soon as I leave the Dungeon. Besides, my abilities haven't leveled up yet… Do abilities only level up after my Falna is updated?”

Kael sighed and closed his status window.

At that very moment, he began hearing strange noises coming from behind him.

“Have the monsters finally started respawning? I was getting bored… Oh?”

However, when he turned around, he saw a monster he had never fought before. It had a completely black, slender body.

Enormous claws, sharp as knives, extended from the ends of its long arms.

“A War Shadow, right? Isn't that the most difficult monster on this floor?”

Kael's confidence was still sky-high, so he simply smiled and said, “Let's see how long you can last against me.”

####

Kael didn't need to draw the War Shadow's attention. It had already marked him as its target. The monster's mind was as empty as those of most monsters in the Dungeon.

Without intelligence, it simply followed its instincts: kill any human it encountered.

The War Shadow was unlike any monster Kael had faced up to that point. Although it moved strangely, it was fast. Extremely fast.

With all his stats still at 10, Kael struggled to keep up with its speed and had to be extremely careful.

He narrowly avoided being hit by teleporting behind the War Shadow and swinging his sword. However, just as his blade was about to strike, the monster turned around and blocked Kael's sword with its enormous claws.

The War Shadow used its other hand to try to hit Kael, but he teleported away.

One more second, and I'd be dead.

Kael smiled, though it was a nervous smile. His confidence was gradually fading.

The War Shadow charged toward Kael. It wasn't going to leave him alone, and he knew it.

I just need to be even faster, right?

Kael didn't feel tired yet, so he believed he could use his Teleportation ability a few more times.

But I can't overdo it…

Kael took a deep breath and faced the War Shadow head-on.

The two approached each other in an instant. The black figure before him was incredibly intimidating, but Kael didn't let that bother him.

WHOOSH!

Kael suddenly disappeared.

The War Shadow turned around, assuming Kael would be behind it, but he wasn't there.

“Over here,” Kael said, swinging his sword and striking the War Shadow's arm, severing it with a single blow.

Before the War Shadow could attack Kael with its remaining arm, he had already disappeared.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Kael began teleporting around the monster, deceiving its eyes. Little by little, his attacks weakened the War Shadow until it finally succumbed, disintegrating into particles of light.

Huff~~

Huff~~

Breathing heavily, his body drenched in sweat, Kael looked at the large magic stone on the ground.

He picked it up with a smile.

'That was tough, wasn't it?'

However, his nightmare was only just beginning.

Immediately after finishing that exhausting battle, Kael was confronted with something rare.

In fact, something that shouldn't have been possible.

'Three of them? Together? At this rate, I'm going to die fighting them.'

His confidence was plummeting.

Kael needed to find a way to escape. Killing all three of them was out of the question.