Chapter 61: The Eighth Floor [Pt 2]

'[Heat Vision]!'

Rey's glowing eyes instantly release a beam of crimson energy.

It sliced through the air in a vibrant him, swiftly moving towards its target in a straight line.

"GRRAAA!!" The Monkey Monster's [Safe Haven] activated once more, but thanks to the creature's paling glow, the barrier began to blink.

As a result of this instability, the ray of light was able to penetrate its defenses to a limited degree.

The result?

"GRAAOO!"

The right arm of the Monkey Monster was badly bruised by the power of the blast.

It took a few steps back in recoil, tightly gripping its wounded region.

At this point, its glow ceased.

"Interesting. So it only lasts for thirty seconds. The effects begin to dwindle in the 20 second mark, and once it reaches 25 seconds, the ability gets unstable."

After the time limit, the Skill completely vanished.

"That's quite something. I'm curious, though. Does this apply to all Skills, or does it depend on the Skill absorbed?"

[Safe Haven] was a B-Tier Skill, so if it lasted for thirty seconds, would a C-Tier Skill last for longer?

What of A-Tier? Would the duration be shorter?

Rey was curious to find out.

"What an interesting Monster..." He murmured.

Compared to the others he had found, this was by far the most dangerous.

'And there's also the fact that the creature is durable. Even though the effects were mitigated by [Safe Haven], that heat vision should have completely sliced off its hand.'

If it was other Monsters, that would have been the outcome.

'Its speed and durability are superior to the others, and the Skill it has is superb.'

Rey wondered just what kind of Monsters would be awaiting him in the lower Floors if the one on the Eighth Floor was already this strong.

'I wonder how the others would fare if they faced this thing...'

Basic Martial Arts or flashy techniques wouldn't be enough to make it out of here alive.

To survive in the Dungeon, one needed two things.

"One is power..." Rey grinned, taking a step forward as he focused his gaze on the growling beast.

And the other was just as important.

"... Adaptability."

Rey stretched out his hand to the Monkey Monster, and it could not resist the 'Pull' effect of [Force].

Like a helpless ragdoll, it approached Rey with sheer speed.

"[Greater Corrosion]." He whispered the moment the Monkey Monster fell into his grasp.

Instantly, the body of the beast melted before Rey's very eyes.

As if it was disintegrating, its flesh turned into ash. The bones soon followed, all of them crumbling to dust as they fell from his hand.

Once he was done eliminating the creature, he dusted his hand and opened his lips.

"Status Window."

[STATUS WINDOW]

- Name: Rey Skylar.

- Race: Human (Otherworlder)

- Class: Commoner (F-Tier)

- Level: 15 (98.21% EXP)

- Life Force: 22

- Mana Level: 63

- Combat Ability: 30

- Stat Points: 0

- Skills (Exclusive): [Doppel]

- Skills (Non-Exclusive): Nil

- Alignment: Neutral

[Additional Information]

You possess the weakest Class, but the strongest Skill. You can only be described as an 'Overpowered Weakling.'

[End Of Information]

As expected, he was still in the same Level, though the EXP had increased compared to its previous state.

'A little more, and I'll Level Up.'

The higher one's Level, the more difficult it was to advance further.

The kind of Monsters he would have to fight to grow even more had to be incomparably stronger than his previous foes.

Such a system ensured Rey could never slack off or feel too powerful since he had to constantly challenge himself to see any real progress.

He liked it this way.

"Now let's take a good look at the new Skill."

[Skill Categories]

~ Attack Category: 26

~ Defense Category: 9

~ Buff Category: 10

~ Miscellaneous: 7

[New Skills: Please Select Their Categories]

~ C-Tier: Breakdown

~C-Tier: Copy

[End Of Information]

"I see... so it was using two Skills the whole time..."

Rey had always thought the Monkey Monster's abilities were too broken for a single Skill, but after considering his own [Doppel], he quickly realized he shouldn't judge.

However, now that the truth had come to light, he felt a little at ease.

'Both of them are definitely going into the Attack Category.'

Rey remembered how he had restructured his Skill Categories after more thorough revision.

Once he had trained with them to an extent, familiarizing himself with their limitations and practicability, he had changed his mind on some Skills.

In the end, a few Skills had to change Categories.

'I'm very sure about these two, though.' Rey thought, referring to the two C-Tiers before his eyes.

Once he was done setting everything up, he closed the System Window and heaved in satisfaction.

"And with that, I have 54 Skills. Not bad."

Rey wasn't satisfied, though.

'I won't be able to fully test out the new Skills on the monsters here since they're all going to be using them as well.'

The best way to properly utilize them would be to square off with a different monster and see how the Skills held up.

'For now, though, let's just advance...'

Satisfied with his current disposition, Rey advanced forward.

'Ah... fuck! I went and corroded the Monster Core too!'

The moment he realized this, he almost pulled his hair out. How could he have forgotten something so important?!

"My moneyyyyy!"

**********

"[Counter]."

The moment a Monkey Monster tried to get a jump on him from behind, Rey's finger flicked back, touching the face of the beast.

~SQUELCH!~

In an instant wave of repulsion, the beast's head exploded..

Its guts spilled over as blood spurted out of its gaping neck. The headless body of the Monster stumbled for a second before falling to its death.

The [Counter] Skill was very useful, albeit technical.

It required precision.

'I have to touch the part of the opponent that is about to hit me, and the damage I would have received is reflected to the opponent.'

This only worked on physical attacks, which was why it remained a C-Tier Skill.

'The fact that its head ripped apart just goes to show how sharp those jaws are.' Rey smirked as the fallen monster's core.

However, not long after he did this, a frown tugged at his lips.

The reason was simple.

"Once again, it's a bother to harvest the Monster Core..."

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