-Vol 6: Dusk Of An Era-

-Dreamscape Paradise-

Making their mind, both Kenshin and Joy stepped through the leaf curtain.

[You have entered Upper Level 10 dungeon Dreamscape Paradise]

They no longer in a forest that was for sure. Before them, was a large expanse of grasslands and some kind of strange flower garden that looked extremely beautiful and alluring. The sky was red and, in the distance, there was a single tower that reached to and probably beyond the sky.

Seeing the notification, Kenshin narrowed his eyes and halted his advance, “Joy stop!”

“What is it Kenshin?” Joy asked looking at Kenshin oddly wondering why he suddenly stopped. They already knew the god was a master of illusions and dreams so he wasn’t that surprised at the change of scenery.

“We have entered a dungeon. A level 10 dungeon.” Kenshin said with a grave look on his face. Although they were already raiding level 9 and some level 10 dungeons in past, all of them were lower-tier dungeons with very little difficulty. Besides, there was a fundamental difference between level 9 and level 10 dungeon. Not only do the monsters become stronger they also become smarter. Moreover, even bosses come in pairs let alone mobs. Without a party of fifty level-100 hunters backed by a few healer-type mixed in, it was not advised to challenge such a difficulty.

“What? A dungeon you say? A level ten at that! What the hell wrong with our rotten luck, how can a simple investigation mission have turned into this? It doesn’t make sense!!” Joy cursed after hearing Kenshin. Everyone knows about the horror lied in a level 10 dungeon, with just two people it would be a nightmare to clear it. Thankfully neither Kenshin or Joy were normal hunters, or else they would have already sported suicidal intentions after finding themselves in this situation.

“Anyway, careful with your steps. I am not sensing any monsters around... which meant this place had something else for us to worry about.” Kenshin frowned. Indeed, his mini-map didn’t show a single speck of monster around. Either they were well hidden to the point even his system couldn’t detect it, or there were none. Kenshin couldn’t dismiss either possibility. If it was him a few months ago when he first received his system, he would have blindly believed that there were no monsters. But after so many battles and going through so many strange situations, he wasn't that naïve anymore.

Joy nodded his head as they both carefully proceeded towards the huge tower in the distance.

Kachak!!

Not even steps in when they heard a weird sound of something clicking. Kenshin’s dragon senses tingled, going haywire. Grabbing Joy’s collar, he dragged him and himself to the ground and laid there, “Damn, I was right. This place was filled with traps.”

“And here I was thinking the first stage was just this big expanse” Joy groaned at his own naïve thoughts, “What to do Kenshin? If we trigger one every ten steps, it will take us ages to reach that tower!!”

“Even if it takes ages, we can only move forward.” Kenshin pointed a thumb at his back, “Look, the gate we came through had vanished already. It was like one of those dungeons, only by clearing we can leave here.” after finishing this he narrowed his eyes towards the unlimited rain of arrows going above their heads. These arrows were purple and looked deadly. No doubt either cursed or poisoned. Kenshin was inclined to put his money on cursed however. This was a level 10 dungeon they were talking about.

“F** me!!” Joy cursed again. It seems troubles were piling up one after another.

The arrow rain over their heads lasted for more than a minute before the last arrow sailed across. Only after conforming that there were no more arrows both Kenshin and Joy raised their heads and inspected their surroundings to look any more hidden traps. Finding none they stepped forward. After walking a few more steps Kenshin suddenly saw red dots pouring out from a corner of map. These red dots were heading their way fast with unbelievable speeds.

“Joy we have company” saying so, Kenshin unsheathed his sword and sent a [Earthen Slicer] to their general way. A crescent blade shaped blue energy projection emerged from his sword and sailed across the grassland, slicing apart the poor trees on its way.

[You have killed Dream Imps Lv 74. Gained 200,000 EXP]

[You have killed Dream Imps Lv 74. Gained 200,000 EXP]

[You have killed Dream Imps Lv 74. Gained 200,000 EXP]

As his earthen slicer engaged the unknown enemy, Kenshin received notification after notification about their deaths and him gaining experience. It didn’t make him happy though, in its place, he started to frown. Because the enemy he was facing were called Imps, known for their mischievous spirit and strong ability in illusions. Moreover, these imps weren't even weak monsters that were often canon fodders in low tier dungeons.

“Joy, we are facing imps. Be careful they are strong.” Kenshin warned before sending another earthen slicer towards the approaching hoard, which although visible on his map and could sense with his [Dragon Sense], his eyes couldn’t see them.

“Imps? Illusions again!? What the hell...” Joy complained and kneeled on the ground before touching it with his index finger. “Overdrive: Sensory Boost” he mumbled under his breath and activated the ultimate form of his skill. Leaving aside his taste, almost all his external senses were boosted.

To go beyond limits and reach the unknown, to break all shackles and access the inaccessible, that’s Overdrive. It was a skill meant to break past the limits of the user. But using such a skill had its drawbacks as well. Therefore, Joy was always careful whenever using this skill. But recently due to Kenshin’s health potion and its regenerative effects, he had discovered that he no longer need to careful while using. All he had to do was to take a mouthful every twenty minutes and he could keep going this ability for a long period of time... or even indefinitely.

“Indeed Imps, I can see them now that I am in overdrive mode.” Joy mumbled and stood up before equipping his gauntlet. Flexing his muscles and activating it briefly, he stood in a defensive martial arts stance.

“So your overdrive mode can see through illusions after all. Why didn’t you use it against that guy?” Kenshin asked confused as to why Joy wasted so much time when he could have used this ability from the get go and finished it instantly.

“That shithead was weakass. Besides, I wanted to train my senses without going into the overdrive mode so I held back even using his normal boost skills. Even then he couldn’t penetrate through my defense let alone hurt me for real.” Joy was smug. Then looking at the side where Kenshin just destroyed he mumbled, “alright we talk later, we have monsters to kill here.” and then leaped towards the still invisible hoard.

“You are right.” Kenshin smiled before enveloping his sword in a wall of scalding hot red flames. Then he slashed it downwards, sending a wave of flames in the form of walls towards the same direction Joy just attacked. This was a mixed skill made from using [Earthen Slicer] and [Fire Manipulation] in conjugation. This way the previously single directional damage skill gained an extra fire damage and DoT effect, making it way more dangerous than before.