Aktaver’s Lair.

33 rd Peniel 1091.

Kashi and Kira collapsed in front of an iron door. Their chests rose and fell rapidly as they heaved huge sighs of relief. It had been four days since they entered the dungeon. Their path had been fraught with fire traps, dead ends, monster spiders, giant mushrooms, ghouls, more traps, ridiculous bosses and much, much more.

The daeben shivered as he recalled all the puzzles he'd been forced to solve in various rooms. Some had taken minutes, others hours. However, they all had close death encounters as a reward for failure.

Kashi panted as he rose to his feet and examined what looked to be the final door. A mural carved into the door depicted a beautiful tree, below which representatives of the humes were gathered in loving harmony. The picture was complete, save for the crack on one of the tree’s branches.

Kashi’s eyes lit up as he retrieved Rosario's branch from his inventory and fitted it into the crack. A loud grating sound echoed down the pathway as the drawing glowed with a brilliant, ethereal glow, causing the daeben to take a step back as he shielded his eyes from the light.

The glow dimmed, and Kashi watched in awe as the tree’s branches sprung to life and spread around the door. The branch he fixed in suddenly broke off and fell to the floor. Kashi knelt down and picked it up as a set of words appeared in front of him and glowed with a green hue.

Young one. How dost thou face thy enemies?

a) Cunning and Smarts.

b) Forward with Valor.

c) With Words, not Weapons.

Kashi examined the question for a moment, then answered, "How you ask? I am afraid there is no right answer to that question. A warrior without cunning or smart is but a fool, yet one must be prepared to launch headfirst into battle if need be. Also, true conquest cannot be achieved through steel alone. Words must be shared. Alliances forged, and bonds strengthened. Any man without all of these qualities can not be a true leader. So, if you ask how I face my enemies, I ask thee this. Who is my enemy?"

The tree pulsated, and fruits began to fall from its branches to the hands of the humes waiting below. A gentle, warm voice spoke into Kashi’s head and announced the verdict.

‘ Unusual answer. But one filled with wisdom. You may pass.’

The branch in Kashi’s hand suddenly exploded with a blinding light. By the time Kashi recovered his sight, the branch had transformed into a beautiful, wooden longbow. "Identify."

Yggdrassil’s Bow [Divine Unique]

Weight: 150

Durability: (50/50)

ATK (Mag): 50 ~55

ATK (Phy): 95 ~ 100

Mana Capacity: 3000 MP

Ki Capacity: 3000 Ki

Crafted from a branch of the tree of life. Grants its user with renewed vitality.

Equip:

+200 HP

+50~55 points of extra Holy Damage

+10% HP Regen Rate

10% of Damage inflicted on the enemy is restored to the wielder's HP

Kashi tightly clutched the bow as he admired his new weapon. This bow alone made up for the hardships of the past four days. The daeben looked up to see the tree revert to its mural state, after which the door swung open.

Kashi and Kira walked into a dimly-lit room around which stood several stone pillars, some of which were broken. The daeben spotted scrawny, desperate warnings etched onto the pillars, some of which read: “Aegvir died here." "You're already dead." "You should not have come here." "This is where it ends."

Kashi, however, ignored the warnings as he walked further into the room, weaving through the pillars. Kira nudged the daeben and looked at the ceiling. Kashi followed her line of sight and frowned as he spotted a man-sized crystal hanging from the ceiling.

"What is that ?" Kashi mumbled as he hopped to and fro between pillars to gain altitude. When he was high enough, he examined the crystal. Kashi’ brows furrowed as he saw a man in a white robe trapped within the crystal. Snow-white wings grew out of the prisoner’s back and wrapped around his lithe frame.

Years of gaming experience warned Kashi that physical effort would not break open this crystal. He had to do something to remove the magic holding that man in place.

While Kashi was in the middle of his investigation, Kira’s desperate voice suddenly screamed in his head. “Watch out!"

Kashi snapped to the side and saw a black mass hurtling towards him. He sharply bent mid-air, wincing as the black length brushed over him. The daeben lost his balance and fell to the ground. However, he quickly picked himself up and notched an arrow onto his bow. Glaring into the dark, he shouted, "Show yourself?!"

"Why should I?" A deep dismembered voice replied. The voice echoed around the room, making it impossible for Kashi to pinpoint its origin. "You will be dead soon enough. Hmm… though I'll have you leave a message for my next plaything before you go. Kukukuku.."

Kashi whirled around, training his arrows at the shadows. "How long do you think you can hide?"

The voice chuckled in response. "Kukuku.. your taunts will not work on me."

Thwack!

Kashi gritted his teeth and spun around as the black mass slithered between the pillars. He shared a thought with Kira, and the two split up, running in separate directions.

"Useless, useless, useless!" The voice cried as five dark masses joined the first to chase after the daeben.

Kashi’s face contorted with fear and pain as he suffered several hits from the whip-like masses. He desperately wove his way through the pillars to hide, but eventually stopped when he met a dead end. He faced the slithering tendrils with his back to the wall with a defiant glare.

The disembodied voice, bolstered by the daeben’s actions, teased as the tendrils surrounded Kashi, "Well, I guess you've given up then!"

Boom! Crash!

A cacophony of explosions rang out in quick succession, scaring the disembodied voice. "Wh-what was that?!"

Kashi’s expression switched to a sneer as he pushed himself off the wall and charged at the tendrils. He reached for one, but it slithered out of reach. In response, his palm balled into a fist and slammed against the nearest pillar. A crack spread across it, then it crumbled to the ground in a deafening crash.

"You thought my partner was a mere wolf didn't you?" Kashi teased as the crashing sounds grew louder in the background. "Well, I don't blame you. Most people, including myself, made that mistake." Rotating his right arm, Kashi flashed an evil grin at the tendrils. "I told her to get as far away from me as possible and destroy the pillars."

"Wh-what are you? Crazy?” the voice cried out in shock. “If you take down the pillars, the whole roof will come crashing down on us all?"

Kashi kicked down the pillar next to him. "Want to bet, you overgrown octopus?"

"I'm not an octopus!" The ends of the tendrils suddenly sharpened and attacked the daeben.

Rather than retreat, Kashi dashed forward. He dodged the strikes by a hair's breadth and watched as the tendrils harmlessly dug into the earth. Powered by fury, the tendrils smashed sideways through the pillars.

Kashi anticipated the attack and jumped between the surviving pillars. He alternated his altitude, confusing the attacking tendrils which ended up destroying everything in their path.

Smoke and dust filled the air as pillars were consecutively knocked to the ground until the final pillar eventually crumbled to the ground. Kashi reunited with Kira, and they waited for the dust to clear off.

Whoosh!

Kashi and Kira braced themselves as a thick purple aura blew past them and cleared out the dust. The daeben looked up as the creature behind the voice finally revealed itself.

The guardian of the prison turned out to be a boney humanoid wearing an apparatus that resembled a gas mask. The man reminded Kashi of a certain Octopus Doctor, only he had ten tentacles protruding out of his back. The guardians used two of these to prop himself up.

Nekark the Cursed. Lv 83

"Heh, were you trying to hide your true form? I think I can understand why," Kashi teased as he notched his bow.

"You fool," The man cursed as he slowly descended to the ground. "The pillars were placed there to give you a fighting chance."

"What?"

Bam!

Kashi winced as he and Kira were sent flying by a surprise attack.

The tendrils that struck the duo retracted and hung loosely by Nekark's side. "Without them, I am free to attack at full strength."

Kashi righted himself mid-air and skidded to a halt. "Well, now that's more like it." He wiped the blood from his lower lip, and said, "Okay then, how about we really get started?"

Nekark snorted and replied, "As you wish."

Kashi instantly shot several arrows, but they never made it. Nekark dedicated two tentacles to his defense which swatted the bolts aside. The rest he used to attack the daeben.

However, now that Kashi could see the tendrils coming, dodging them was no longer tedious. Unfortunately, this resulted in a stalemate. Kashi and Kira attempted to hit the monster from several angles, but neither he nor Kira could get any significant headway, and the attacks that did pull through barely scraped his ridiculous health.

Nerkak watched, bored as the daeben and direwolf danced to his tune. Four tendrils suddenly entwined to one big tentacle and struck the daeben.

Kashi winced as he parried the attack with his bow. He heard a cracking sound and looked down to his bow. He winced when he realized the durability had dropped to five, and splinters had begun to break off. It would fall beyond repair if it sustained any more damage.

No way he was losing the new bow right after getting it. While dodging, Kashi placed the bow in his inventory and swapped it out for his previous bow. Unfortunately, this dulled his reaction which forced him to block another attack with the bow. It shattered to pieces as he was sent crashing into a wall.

"Kukuku. So weak. All of you." Nekark laughed as the tentacle struck at the downed daeben. Kira wanted to come to his aid, but four tentacles kept her occupied. Nekark grinned as he ordered, "Die."

Stab!

"It's over huh," Nekark muttered. He tried to retract the tendrils to focus on Kira but realized they were held in place. "...Huh?" The monster’s eyes widened as he looked at his victims. Dark aura so thick, he could touch it burst out from both the daeben and the direwolf at the same time.

Kashi was the kind of person who learned from experience. In a repeat of his fight against the Nightfall Hulk, the daeben gripped the giant tendril and refused to let go. A pair of red eyes burned with the fury of seven hells as he demanded in a deep, dark, authoritative voice, "Who the hell do you think you're killing off?"

Fighting Spirit Activated!

Scorn of the Fallen Activated!

Bloodlust Activated!

Attack Power Doubled.

Damage from Enemy Attacks Doubled.

At the other corner of the room, Kira turned ethereal, her form shifting between physical and smoke. Her red eyes burned and the earth cracking beneath her feet as she tore across the room in a single leap and tore the tendril Kashi held to shreds.

“Arghh!” Nekark cried out in pain as he retrieved his ripped body parts. He clutched them in his hand, panting as they regenerated. "I will end you!" The monster swore, but his follow-up words trailed off as he took in the daeben’s strange appearance.

Kashi stood up with four quivers strapped around him. Two strapped to his back, and two at his sides. However, he had no bow in hand.

"What do you plan on doing with those?" Nekark asked. "No matter. You'll be dead with my next attack." He bent over, screaming in pain as dozens of tentacles tore out of his back. "Haha! Witness my true power! No one has seen my hundred tendrils and lived to t-"

"Shut it," Kashi interrupted, taking a step forward with four arrows in each and. The bolts pulsed with a dark glow as the daeben fed his ki into them. He glared at Nekark and beckoned. "Come at me."

"You!" Nekark’s face contorted with fury and rage as his tentacles tore towards the daeben and his companion.

Kashi took a deep breath. "Ha!" He burst forward, Kira in tow. He weaved through the crashing tendrils as he advanced, flinging the arrows with deadly accuracy in all directions, and scattering the incoming tentacles before they could reach him. He also made sure to shoot a couple at Nekark himself, if only to keep a few tendrils occupied.

Unfortunately, despite Kashi and Kira’s best efforts, there were too many tendrils to contend with, and they were soon encased in a ball of tendrils.

Nekark laughed as he urged the tendrils to crush the intruders. "Kukukuku.. perish fooli-"

Boom!

Nekark cried out in pain as the tentacles enclosing Kashi and Kira suddenly exploded outward. Kira dove out of the opening with Kashi on her back before the tendrils regenerated then ran on a tendril towards its owner. Compared to the rope at Merswamp, this thick tendril was far too comfortable.

Nekark, realizing the duo were getting even closer, panicked and released the ball. The tendrils turned in place to attack the direwolf while Nekark struggled to shake Kira off.

However, Kira defied all laws of physics as she maintained perfect balance. She continued unhindered as Kashi destroyed any tendril that closed in on them. His hands were swift, flinging arrows faster than most bow-men could shoot. Within a few seconds, they were within touching distance of Nekark’s main body.

Kashi jumped off Kira's back as she tackled Nekark to the ground. The surviving tendrils closed in on her, but she phased out and appeared a few feet away.

The tendrils swiftly changed their target to the daeben who was still mid-jump and could not evade. However, while in the air, Kashi smirked as he pulled out Yggdrassil’s bow and used a combination of [Multi-Shot] and [Rapid Fire] to unleash a relentless barrage on the approaching tentacles.

The arrows met the tendrils halfway between both men. Kashi’s relentless onslaught proved the final victor. The arrow bombardment concentrated on one spot and successfully tore a hole through the tendrils.

Nekark cried out in anguished pain as the bolts stabbed his frail, defenseless body. The two tendrils he kept for defense failed to block the torrent, and Kira, seeing her opportunity, phased next to the Nekark and bit off the defensive tendrils.

Before Nekark could recover from the immense pain, Kashi burst through the small hole created by his attack and crashed the heel of his boot onto Nerkak's throat.

The frail monster cried out as he clutched his throat and coughed into his mask. For a moment, he lost the ability to command his tentacles as he desperately gasped for breath.

Kashi glared at the beaten Nekark, then looked at Kira, "He's all yours."

Kira stepped forward and ripped out the monster’s jugular with her first bite, then proceeded to feast on the man’s heart and vital organs while he gasped for air. The direwolf ignored the monster’s bloodcurdling screams until he finally burst into light and she could eat no more.

Kashi looked at Kira with curiosity in his eyes. "Anything new? No tentacles I hope?"

Kira snorted. “Don’t know. I do not feel any different."

Kashi sighed. "Well, at least that's over."

The wall behind Nekark suddenly shined with a bright light as a section of the wall slid open to reveal a gold treasure chest.

Kashi opened the chest and saw several books and scrolls spilled across. He picked out a golden scroll that was glowing brightly. The daeben could feel the tremendous power stored within the scroll. He unfurled the scroll and began to read its contents.

Ferulic Creator, Destroyer, and Savior.

Oh, how long has it been?

My family lies in ruins,

My beloved trapped by a man I dared to call a friend.

Yet, I can not afford to lose hope.

The summoned, for all their flaws,

Are a wilful and powerful bunch.

To my son Derul, I leave my legacy.

May he find one worthy of possessing my skills.

Hidden Class Found!

If you accept, you can use skills exclusive to this class. Do you wish to convert?

YES NO

Kashi’s lips curled up in a wide grin. Seriously, a class from Ferulic himself? He'd be insane to even waste a moment considering the offer. "YES!"

Name

Kashi

Alignment

Chaotic Good

Level

74

Profession

Dimension Artist

Title

Wolf Slayer

Fame

750

Infamy

33

Health

17913

Mana

11613

Ki

31413

Vitality

130 +30

Stamina

184 +30

Wisdom

97 +30

Intellect

20 +30

Strength

156 +30

Agility

172 +30

Dexterity

93 +30

Endurance

Phys END

67

Mag END

43

Charisma

31 +30

Charm

18 +30

Stealth

56

Instinct

57

Fighting Spirit

92

Leadership

11

Crafts

39

Art

120+ 95

Luck

29 +30

Attack

Phys AT K

1159

Defense

Phy s DEF

152

Mag ATK

159

Mag DEF

63

Resistances

Poison Resistance

0%

Ice Resistance

0%

Electricity Resistance

0%

Light Resistance

0%

Fire Resistance

2 %

Dark Resistance

0%

+ 20 points added to all Stats.

+ Art stat is added extra 75 points.

+ Enables you to equip certain items specialized for the class.

+ Enables you to learn all craft skills to the stage of Grandmaster.

+ Grants extra options to items that are produced or refined.

+ Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level in Painting Mastery.

+ Increases Fame by producing works of art of extraordinary image or artistic value.

Kashi’s eyes glazed over all the perks and settled on the class. Dimension Artist... Artist . "...What The Fuck?!"

To be Continued…