Chapter 196: Level Up

While the higher ups in the Kingdom were scrambling because of the new dungeon and upcoming auction, Derek continued his training. As soon as he left the dungeon, he would repeat it, spending almost no time outside. He didn’t want to waste a moment.

In the almost two weeks since he started, he had finished running the dungeon dozens of times. His skills improved at a speed he didn’t know was possible. Now, Derek was sitting in the boss area of a completed dungeon, going over his stats and skills. He had a ton of decisions to make.

Status

Name

Derek Hunt

Age

30

Level

165

Experience

649,350,250/2,800,000,000

Class

Legend of the Void (Legendary)

Race

Human (Modified)

Health

16575

Mana

5000

Stamina

16575

Stats

Strength

705

Dexterity

505

Endurance

1105

Vitality

1105

Intelligence

500

Wisdom

500

Stat Points Remaining

1953

Contracts

Alanah Swan (Crown)

View Contract

Silvi (Bonded Beast)

View Status

Stella Brighton (Crown)

View Contract

Francesco Jaccobs (Adventurer’s Guild)

View Contract

Rudolph Mckinney

View Contract

Skills

Absolute Nullify

Level 11

Nullify magic spells

Chain Lightning

Level 13

Send a chain of lightning to enemies.

Channel Void

Level 16

Channel the Void through your body, into attacks or defenses.

Cleaning

Level 9

Clean a small area.

Cure Toxin

Level 4

Removes poisons and toxins.

Dismantle

Level 12

Increase ability to dismantle deceased organic life forms.

Greater Meditation

Level 9

Enter meditative state to increase recovery.

Heavy Weapons Mastery

Level 18

Increase damage with heavy weapons.

Identify

Level 16

Appraise objects or entities.

Magic Resistance

Level 20

Increase natural magic resistance by 1.5% per level.

Multi-Strike

Level 10

Your next attack hits four times.

Physical Resistance

Level 20

Increase natural physical resistance by 1.5% per level.

Rejuvenation

Level 14

Restores 70% HP over 30 seconds.

Sweeping Slash

Level 19

Project a slash in front of you.

Time Prison

Level 4

Create a void space as a prison. Control its passage of time.

Void Call

Level 2

Call out to the Void.

Void Sense

Level 15

Sense the void.

Void Shift

Level 7

Become one with and move within the void.

Void Steps

Level 13

Use the void as a foothold to move.

Void Storage

Level N/A

Use a storage space made from void.

Unarmed Combat Mastery

Level 14

Increase efficiency when not using a weapon or magic.

Skill Points Remaining

16

Skill Upgrade Points Remaining

4

Awards

Greater Giant Slayer, Jack of All, Lesser Dungeon Explorer, Lesser Dungeon Traveler, Lesser Enigma, Repetitive Dungeoneer, Lesser Slayer of the Unknown, Solo Diver, Magical Glass Cannon, Meat Shield, Lesser Explorer, Offensive Powerhouse

Holy shit. As Derek went through his stunning status sheet, he couldn’t help but be amazed at what he was able to do in almost two weeks.

First and foremost, he had begun this training specifically for his skills, but the staggering amount of stat points he ended up saving almost blew his mind.

Absolute Nullify, as a skill that was very hard to level, had actually made it to level 11. Now, the size of the wall was almost double as it was before, and the mana cost was down by a third. It was truly a skill he could use well now.

Of course, Channel Void was a skill he combo’d with pretty much any and every physical skill he used, so it had gained a respectable five levels in training.

Cleaning had even had a couple of breakthroughs because of how many times he used it to clean his body after completing an area.

Greater Meditation, the hardest skill he had to level, and the one he used the most, had almost broken into double digits. With each level, he could feel his ability to use it along with doing other things was made easier and easier.

Derek did frown when he viewed Magic and Physical Resistance. He’d hoped the skills would upgrade once they reached level 20, but they didn’t. Still, his body had a full 30% resistance to literally all attacks. He couldn’t complain. They were the two skills he planned on training the most when he came to the Golem Dungeon, so the fact that they were level 20 meant it had been a successful trip.

Multi-Strike was a pleasant surprise. It had started at causing an attack to hit twice, but now the attack hit four times. It was truly amazing. Every five levels the skill gained, it added another attack. So, once it hit level 20, the attack would land six times. Plus, the cooldown had been significantly reduced after leveling so many times.

Rejuvenation was Rejuvenation. It now healed for 70% of his health over 30 seconds and had an even smaller cooldown window. It was a very useful skill to have. He’d been using it off cooldown pretty consistently to get it to level 14.

Derek even managed to throw in some Sweeping Slashes with his attacks a few times. It worked much better once Multi-Strike got a third attack. That, combined with Channel Void, had let Derek get some multi-kills a few times on golems. It was quite satisfying. One more level and the skill would be 20. Still, it was a skill that worked much better with a weapon than fists alone.

Void Sense was a skill he learned to utilized the most. During all the time training, he never dampened the intensity of the skill. He found that the skill not only showed him different aspects of the void, but it allowed him to control it better. Derek considered Void Sense a skill which led to greater attunement to his element. Before using it so much, he had considered it a distraction, but now, he considered it one of his most relevant skills.

Void Steps made some leaps, as well. It was his most fun skill. Who doesn’t like flying or floating in the air? He could now maneuver seamlessly with the skill. He wasn’t sure how much of that was because of Void Steps leveling or how much was because of Void Sense.

Finally, his Unarmed Combat Mastery had really been boosted. Derek wasn’t sure if he was ever going to get a chance to have another worthwhile glaive, so he was happy to have a backup passive skill he could use for the time being.

After going over all his skills, Derek finally took a look at his Awards. Lesser Repetitive Dungeoneer had actually gone up two levels and become Repetitive Dungeoneer. Now, every time he completed a dungeon more than once, he had a 10% chance of obtaining another reward. Lesser was a 5% chance, Minor was 7%, and normal was 10%. If he could get the Award to Major, he would have a 15% chance of being re-rewarded.

Solo Diver had also risen by two tiers. It had come with a 4% increase in stats while solo diving, which he could feel, but wasn’t evident in his status sheet. He could still instantly begin a dungeon while alone. What he was surprised about was a new perk that was added with the latest upgrade. His level could now be hidden when accessing dungeon statuses.

People who chose to go it alone could be considered private people. So, the Award would help them hide their personal information when they had to form impromptu parties with other adventurers. Derek was happy with the Award.

Finally, after going over everything else, his eyes fell on his stat points. What the hell do I do with over 1,900 free stat points? Derek started weighing the pros and cons of each primary stat.

Right now, he felt that his physical attack had fallen behind because of his Strength and Dexterity, but at the same time, he made up for it with his Channel Void ability, which was stronger based on Wisdom and Intelligence.

Still, he knew that Endurance and Vitality were his primary stats. It would never hurt to increase those two. Well, I do have almost 2,000 points. I could keep my focus on my Endurance and Vitality, then spread some around my other stat points…

Finally, Derek decided to do just that. Let’s see… I have a breakthrough, which is rather painful, every 500 points. I could pump up my Endurance and Vitality to 1,500 each, then spend the remaining 1,100 or so on the rest of the stats. Derek grunted. The itching is going to be so bad…

First, Derek spent 788 points to get his two main stats to 1,499. He shivered as he felt the minor changes in his bones, skin, and organs. He also had some shortness of breath as his lungs and heart adjusted to his newly increased Vitality.

Okay… that wasn’t too bad. I should have done something like this before, when my stats hit 1,000. It would have given my body a little time to adjust before the horrifying itching and lava in my veins. He thought.

Next, while making sure to save two stat points so he could push his Vitality and Endurance to 1,500, he divvied the remaining points out among the other four stats. First, he brought all his stats up to 825.

With those changes, Derek felt a slight increase in his mind’s acuity and processing speed. He also felt a deftness in his muscles and tendons. His body became slightly more toned as well. He didn’t feel much in the way of increased strength, but that was mostly because he didn’t actually increase his Strength by much. While everything else was increased by 300 points or so, his Strength only went up a bit over 100 points.

With his stats divided, he was ready to pump his others to 1,500. Then, he would feel safer calling the void again, and he could work on his last skill for the remaining couple of days. Derek hesitated slightly, then put a stat point into Endurance.

Then he braced himself.