“Maybe that was a little overkill.” I laughingly said to myself, safely landing back on the ground—staring at the large sinkhole I created. And feeling thoroughly refreshed after the Level Up, I decided to check out my Character Menu that I’ve completely ignored for weeks now. After noting how I lost 5 Strength from losing my right gauntlet, I moved onto the Stats side.

Stats

Name: Eyes Thalion Ven’Thyl

Race: Wood Elf

Level: 30

Class: Dual-Style Archer

Subclass: Seer

[Titles]: 28

Health: 6,120 (10% Regen/hr)

Mana: 4,290 (5.5% Regen/min)

Stamina: 4,080 (5.5% Regen/min)

Vitality: 408(+20)[78] Magic: 429[86]

Strength: 425(+25)[80] Agility: 438[88]

Intelligence: 546[109] Endurance: 421[84]

Sense: 435[87] Luck: 313[63]

Available Points: 100

Statuses: [Multi-layered Seal], [Sealed Magic Core], [Sealed Skill]

Bonuses: 25 Strength, 20 Vitality, 25% Physical Damage Reduction +25% of Base Stats, +10% to Base Regeneration

“Wow! My Stats are looking great!” I exclaimed to myself. “But those are just the Total Stats, what’s the actual Stats at?” I hovered my finger over Vitality to find out.

Vitality: Increases amount of Health and Stamina. 408(Total)= 330(Base Stat)+ 77.5(25% of Base Stat)+ 20(Armour)

“330, huh? The 25% Stat Bonus from the crown really inflates the numbers up, but I guess it’s all the better for me though.” Then noticing all the notifications I ignored during battle, I read through them next.

Archery proficiency increased by 2 Levels. Archer’s Confidence increased by 1 Level. Power Shot increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Dodge increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Sprint increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Archer’s Dash increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills.

“Current Max Level? Does that mean there’ll be a higher level later then?” I wondered, continuing to read the rest.

Arrow Shower increased by 1 Level. Leaping Shot increased by 3 Levels. Rapid Shot increased by 2 Levels. Spread Shot increased by 2 Levels. Sniper Shot increased by 2 Levels. Charged Arrow increased by 1 Level. Long-Range Archery proficiency increased by 8 Levels. Deadly Range increased by 1 Level.

I also think I got a new Skill from just Leveling Up to Lv.30.

You have learned the Skill: [Ranged Advantage]. Ranged Advantage increases by 4 Levels. Ranged Advantage: Projectiles you shoot gain a 5% increase to Range, Flight Speed, Damage, and Penetration. Percentage increases by 5% per Skill Level, Skill Level based on highest Ranged Proficiency Level.

“That’s another Skill added to the list, I’m starting to lose track of them all. I wonder if the other Players are having the same problem?” Opening up the Skills Menu.

Skills

[Sort]

Class Actives: [Archer’s Dash Lv.10(Max)], [Arrow Shower Lv.8], [Charged Arrow Lv.9], [Element Arrow Lv.1], [Ensnaring Arrow Lv.1], [Explosive Arrow Lv.2], [First Aid Lv.7], [Leaping Shot Lv.9], [Power Shot Lv.10(Max)], [Rapid Shot Lv.9], [Sniper Shot Lv.3], [Spread Shot Lv.9], [Turning Arrow Lv.6], [Twin Arrow Lv.7] Class Passive: [Archer’s Confidence Lv.4], [Archer’s Duality Lv.Max], [Archer’s Stride Lv.Max], [Deadly Range Lv.5], [Magic Arrows Lv.2], [Ranged Advantage Lv.1] Subclass Active: [Seer’s Eye Sacrifice Lv.2] Subclass Passives: [Eyes Of A Seer Lv.6], [Seer’s Eye Collection(15,274) Lv.6] [Seer's Visions Lv.6] Active: [Sprint Lv.10(Max)] Passives: [Dodge Lv.10(Max)], [Fitness Lv.6], [Natural Tracker Lv.1], [Sneak Lv.5], [Perception Lv.9] Race Passives: [Elven Physiology Lv.Max], [Keen-Sighted Lv.Max] Class Proficiency: [Long-Range Archery Lv.42], [Magic-Wielding Archery Lv.14(Sealed)] Weapon Proficiency: [Archery Lv.40], [Hand-to-hand Lv.10], [Swordsmanship Lv.12], [Wield Mana Lv.15] Crafting Proficiency: [Bowyer Lv.1], [Creature Harvest Lv.2], [Fletcher Lv.1]

Satisfied with my Stats and Skills, I closed the Menus and saw Odelia picking up my sword from the ground and carrying it over to me.

“You know that did not count, right?” Odelia asked, presenting Silverthorn II to me.

“Yeah, I know.” Grabbing the sword from her and sheathing back in its sheath.

"And I am sorry about my shameful bow. I should have warned you the moment I saw the Charged Arrow expand to such a size."

"Don't be sorry. It was an amazing bow. Nothing was shameful about it at all.” I told her, making her smile, “I only had it for less than a month, but without it, I don’t think I’d be standing here right now.”

“Your adulation for my bow is unnecessary, my Lord.” Odelia humbly bowed, “But thank you for your kind words nevertheless.”

“No problem, but where am I ever gonna find a bow like that again?"

"Well, seeing how you were quite picky about the bows in the city, I could always teach you how to make your own, you know?" Odelia openly suggested.

"Really!? That’d be so awesome!” Excited at the thought of making my own bow, having only previously bought them whole or in parts in the previous world.

"Then we can start the day after tomorrow’s festival." Odelia gladly stated.

I pumped my fist in excitement, but I decided to bring something up, “Before I forget, I saw your face when I was fighting, Odelia.” remembering how she was so ready to end my Combat Test, “Tell me the truth; you didn't actually believe I could kill a monster from this Dungeon at all, now did you?"

“I did not.” Odelia answered matter-of-factly, “In truth, I only brought you here so you would understand the difference in strength between you and the monsters on just the outskirts of the Millennium Dungeon. I could have never imagined you actually killing a monster here by yourself, let alone in such a devastating manner, even if you freely used the other Styles.” She genuinely sounded to have thought to believe that.

“I appreciate the honesty, but have a little faith in your student, Odelia. It is me after all.” Feeling slightly offended by her disbelief in me.

“Apologies, Lord Eyes. But allow me to tell you it was truly an incredible and astonishing sight to behold the power you already have at your young age.” Odelia apologetically praised; then stated ”Nevertheless, like I have been telling you for days now, you are not yet ready for my Combat Test, my Lord—landing a single cut in the entirety of the battle is simply not good enough.”

“Actually it was two…” Counting my first shallow cut as one.

“Okay, two cuts is simply not good enough.” Correcting her statement, “And now that you have seen and experienced what it takes to pass my test, I will gladly accept your surrender to my challenge, and will be looking forward to you announcing yourself to the Kingdom at the eve of tomorrow’s Five Heroes Festival.”

I bursted out into laughter, “Haha…In your dreams, Odelia! There’s no way I’m giving up now!" adding, "Besides, this only helped prove to myself that I can pass your Combat Test. I just need some time to think about how to do it.”

Odelia shook her head and sighed, ominously saying “I would advise you to hurry your thoughts then, my Lord. You may have much less time than you think.” She looked deeply up at the huge full moon brightly illuminating the whole crimson forest in a whitish-blue moonlight.

Confused and unsure by what she meant, I opened up the Quest to see exactly how much time I had left.

Time Limit: 4 Hours, 1 Minutes, 56 Seconds

“Less time than I think? But I still have 4 hours? Does she think I’ll need more than an hour each for these Blood Stalkers?” Staring at the remaining four tied up to the tree.

I noticed the slightly smaller Lv.52 and the Lv.53 Blood Stalkers stopped growling at us and kind of looked scared of me, but the largest Lv.54 was still angrily growling, “Kill strong elf, make me strong!”

On the other hand, the Lv.55 slobbered more than before as it stared at me, growling “Smell tasty blood, me want...”

Ignoring them, I spent the next few minutes thinking of different ideas to pass the Combat Test; from simply trying to use my poor Hand-to-hand and Swordsmanship to somehow try to beat them with brute force, to others like kiting them out with basic archery until they got exhausted and I could finish them off with close-range attacks. But I knew all of those ideas would drain me both physically and mentally if I couldn’t beat one of them and had to face another—even if I considered recovering from the possible Level Ups. Then making up my mind to go all or nothing, I came up with one last idea.

“The actual thing that’ll determine if I pass this test or not isn’t whether I can actually kill a Blood Stalker with the Combat Style, but in fact whether I can display enough combat skill to convince Odelia I’m at a level of a Combat Archer.” Clearly remembering that as the Second Required Feat of the Style, “And to safely do something like that, I need Stats—one’s I don’t have yet, but I will soon.”

Thinking, “It’s a gamble, but if I kill 3 of the 4 Blood Stalkers now, I can probably get to Lv.40 and make things so much easier.” though I already knew the problems in that idea, “But that would only leave me with one chance to pass, meaning if I fail then, I’d probably have to go find another monster in the Dungeon—which could also lead me to failing if I get taken by surprise by an unfamiliar monster and need to use another Style to kill it too. But this is also probably my best shot at succeeding.”

Recalling the earlier battle, I started to think “When the Blood Stalker said ‘Bloodthirst’ and got stronger and faster, we were about the same speed, which means my Agility is already good enough. But when I stabbed my sword into its hide, I had to use all my strength just to get the sword half way through, and I wasn’t even able to take it out after that.” Deciding, “Well I guess I know where I should dump all my Available Points in then.” Spending 90 Available Points into Strength, and putting the remaining 10 into Agility for a little more speed.

Strength: 537(+25)[103] Agility: 450[90]

And almost instantly I felt my entire body becoming significantly stronger, causing the armour I wore to be slightly tight as my muscles grew and flexed inside it.

Fitness increased by 1 Level.

Clenching my fist, I said aloud “I just need a little bit more.”

“Huh? Did you say something, Lord Eyes?” Odelia asked, strangely not paying attention to me and having her bow and sword drawn—carefully surveying the area around us with her eyes.

“No, I was just talking to myself.” I told her, “But what are you looking for? Did you sense something dangerous in the area? Is it a Boss?” I eagerly asked, wanting to see what a Boss looked like in this ‘Millennium Dungeon’.

“I did not see or sense anything yet—and as for a Boss, you would not want to see one, especially not tonight on the night before the Five Heroes Festival.” She stated ominously again, continuing to survey the area.

Still unsure by what she meant, I simply moved on and thought, “I could probably just kill the three Blood Stalkers with a single Maximum Charged Arrow and be done with it, but I still have 4 hours left, and I should definitely use them to practice the Combat Style and Level Up as many other Skills to the Max Levels as I can. I’ll just have to remember to save the last hour for only the Combat Test.” Having decided, I grabbed the Lv.53 and brought it to the center of the clearing, using this as a perfect time to also see a Monster’s Menu for the first time—switching to the Eyes Of A Seer.

Monster Info

Name: None

Species: Blood Stalker

Age: 12

Gender: Male

Class: None

Title: None

Level: 53

Vitality: 310 Magic: 35

Strength: 364 Agility: 392

Intelligence: 25 Endurance: 286

Sense: 403

Innate Skills: Lv.Max Blood Hunger, Lv.9 Blood Heal, Lv.8 Blood Instincts, Lv.7 Bloodthirst

Acquired Skills: None

Status: None

Weakness: Silver

“Interesting...I’m not quite sure how useful knowing any of this will ever be, considering it doesn’t even show me the Health or the descriptions of the Skills, but it’s cool to see.” Switching back to my preferred Eyes of a Wood Elf.

Feeling ready to start, I asked Odelia “Can you release the bindings please? And don’t worry, I’ll be fighting this one with the other Styles so I won’t get as injured as earlier.” Unsure what I was planning, Odelia simply nodded and released the bindings.

And although this one looked scared of me earlier, as soon as he felt the feeling of being freed, the Blood Stalker jumped to his feet and bared his teeth at me, growling “Dumb elf, dead now!”

“We’ll see about that.” I smirked, drawing Silverthorn II and taking out the Lv.30 bow I stole earlier.

Fleet-footed

Uncommon

Attack: 350

+30 Agility

Requirement: Lv.30, Agi 100, Str 80

Not feeling threatened at all by this Blood Stalker, I used Sprint and rushed straight towards him with my sword in hand. Caught off by the sudden burst of speed, the Blood Stalker was slow to react, and I got a free horizontal slice straight along his body—leaving a long clean gash on the side of its leathery hide. I smiled, feeling just how worth it was to invest into Strength.

The Blood Stalker roared in pain, “Blood Heal!” causing the gash to rapidly heal and close itself significantly faster than the last Blood Stalker I faced. “Weak Elf!” He laughingly snickered.

Ticked off by the way he was laughing at me, I swiftly drew four arrows and shot two Ensnaring Arrows at his left legs, and two more at his right legs. Then as four arrows struck each of the separate legs, the Blood Stalker laughingly snickered again after the arrows barely even hurt him. Ignoring the laughter, I watched as the long mana-strands moved with surprising quickness and power, wrapping around the legs and pulling them together by force, and causing the unsuspecting Blood Stalker to tip over and fall onto the ground.

Ensnaring Arrow increased by 1 Level.

Smugly looking down on him, I didn’t bother to speak and simply unleashed an unending barrage of different Element Arrows, Rapid Shots, Spread Shots, and Twin Arrows to his face—not giving it a chance to heal.

Rapid Shot increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Spread Shot increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Element Arrow increased by 1 Level. Twin Arrow increased by 1 Level. Element Arrow increased by 1 Level.

Until finally the sudden burst golden light rejuvenated my body and the Level Up message appeared.

Congratulations, you have Leveled Up 3 Levels! All Stats have increased by 6, and you gained 30 Available Points.

Wasting no time, I brought the large Lv.54 to the center right away, and asked Odelia to release the bindings again. She did exactly that, however I noticed an ever growing cautious look of concern on her face as she still continued to carefully survey the surrounding area. Though trusting Odelia would deal with whatever came attacking us and warn me if it were a Boss, I refocused my attention back to the large Blood Stalker.

Deciding not to use Ensnaring Arrow, in fear of making the fight too easy, I spent the next several minutes kiting and evading the attacks of the Blood Stalker—using every other Skill that needed to be leveled to the Max. And thanks to the Blood Stalker’s Blood Heal, it made it easy to do.

Congratulations, you have Leveled Up 2 Levels! All Stats have increased by 4, and you gained 20 Available Points. Arrow Shower increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Charged Arrow increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Leaping Shot increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Twin Arrow increased by 1 Level. Turning Arrow increased by 1 Level. Time Limit: 2 Hours, 10 Seconds

When I saw I still had 1 hour left until I really had to start the Combat Test, I let myself relax and walked over to the unnerved looking Odelia. I was about to say some remark about if she was nervous because of me, but suddenly in the blink of an eye, the whitish-blue moonlight that illuminated the crimson forest completely disappeared. And if it weren’t for my eyes that could see well in the dark, I would actually believe that the forest and night was shrouded in complete darkness, not even allowing us the pleasure to see the stars of the night sky.

When I was about to pose a question of what was happening to Odelia, in another blink of an eye the forest and the night was illuminated in moonlight again; however not with a whitish-blue moonlight I expected, but instead with a blood red moonlight that painted everything it touched into crimson.

Immediately I looked up to see the huge full moon brightly floating in the sky, now bathed in a deep bloody crimson, and finally helping me understand what Odelia's earlier words meant. “Tonight's a Blood Moon...”