Endless Leveling Done Right!

Gaston and his men ran as fast as they could.

It was hard to tell what colours their clothes had originally been. They were all in red, dyed by the blood of themselves, their allies, and the monsters they had killed on their way to the surface.

Blood continued to seep through their clothes, but they were unable to heal their wounds as they had used up all their potions when they'd been faced with a massive swarm of bloodthirsty bats on the Third Floor.

While they managed to hold their ground at first, they were only human and had limits to their stamina.

Although they could still fight, they knew they wouldn't last and that escaping was their best option.

Even the Mages who could cast powerful spells had spent nearly all their mana and had started to reserve their power for moments of great danger.

With all their resources gone, they were pushed into dire straits.

'Sh*t!' Gaston cursed for the umpteenth time as he once again sensed the presence of the Zombie Skirmisher, a Rank 4 Mini Boss.

This zombie monster moved so fast that Gaston couldn't land a direct blow on its body despite being a Rank 5 Warrior.

The monster's claws also had a very potent paralyzing poison, causing the unjust deaths of many of his subordinates.

All it took was a graze of its sharp claws and they would be paralyzed in minutes, helpless to defend themselves from the bats who would swoop in for the kill.

The Death Knight was easier to hit, but hard to kill.

What it lost to the Zombie Skirmisher in terms of speed, it more than made up with its strength.

Its Strength Stat was higher than Gaston's, so every time they clashed, Gaston was the one being pushed back.

If not for the fact that he had gone all out to kill the Death Knight's horse, the Boss Monster would have also given them trouble when they climbed to the upper floors.

"Noooooooooo! Arghhh!"

"Save me, Leader!"

A scream from his subordinates reached Gaston's ear, but he forced himself to ignore it.

As a spent candle himself, he didn't have the strength to help anyone.

Running, fighting, and doing his best to survive had already pushed him to his limit.

The only thing that kept him going was the faint hope of stumbling upon a student whom he could use as a hostage to escape the Headmaster of Frieden Academy.

But that hope had started to die.

One of the reasons why it took him some time to reach the First Floor was because he made a detour on the Second Floor to look for any stray students.

He had found several tracks in the forest, so he chose to follow them, only to come to a dead end every time.

The students had used their teleportation crystals, so their trails stopped abruptly.

He'd lost count of how many times he considered using his teleportation crystal.

He knew that if he did, he would immediately face Professor Rowan. And that was no different from a death sentence.

So, despite how desperate his situation was, he still clung to that hope that there were still some stupid students who refused to leave the dungeon.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of what seemed to be monsters fighting against someone.

"Men, prepare for battle!" Gaston shouted, informing his remaining subordinates that they had finally found a way to survive.

But when he glanced behind him, he only saw four people still following him.

The rest was nowhere to be seen, making him grit his teeth in frustration.

Clearly, the Zombie Skirmisher had neutralized his men, and if he didn't escape soon, he would suffer the same fate as them.

As he and his men ran through the corridor, they were able to see a light at the end.

All of them sped up subconsciously and made a mad sprint towards the light.

The moment they stepped into the spacious cavern, their gazes landed on a few students.

Who stood only dozens of meters away from them.

However, just as Gaston and his men were about to neutralize these naive students, the young man who seemed to be their leader smiled and spoke in a teasing tone.

"Are you guys afraid of the dark?" Alex asked as he tore the magic scroll in his hands.

When the magic of the magic scroll activated, Gaston and his men immediately lost their vision.

It was not only their sight that they lost, but all five of their senses.

The Demon Worshipers blanked out for a brief moment before resuming their charge in the direction where they last saw the students.

Having lost their sense of touch, they didn't even realize they hit an Earth Wall—which Professor Arabella had cast—and were falling to the ground.

They even thought they were still running when, in reality, they were just squirming on the ground like beetles that had been turned upside down!

Renard, Charles, Theo, Mary, and Cassandra all moved in unison to neutralize the Demon Worshipers and knock them out.

They didn't have a hard time doing so since their enemies were already on their last leg.

Alex looked at the defeated Demon Worshipers and finally sighed in relief.

He had spent five hundred thousand academy points to buy the scroll.

The name of the magic spell was "No Sense," an AOE attack effective against Rank 5 opponents and below.

It also worked against Boss Monsters, though it would only last for a minute. This was Alex's trump card against the Demon Worshipers, and it worked to his favor.

"I think that's all of them," Alex said, relieved.

As if to confirm his words, he heard a notification sound inside his head as a blue window screen appeared in front of him.

———

< You have completed a Hidden Quest! >

< Quest Name: The Ambush in the Orion Dungeon! >

< Mission Goal: Defeat the Demon Worshipers who are planning to kill the students of the three academies! >

< Rewards: 5,000 Arcana Points, 1 Super Rare Skill Book of your choice! >

———

'Sweet!' Alex almost did a fist pump after seeing the rewards that appeared after completing the hidden quest.

Arcana Points were difficult to obtain, so he wasn't getting a lot as of late. Also, the Super Rare Skill Book was a godsend.

There were a few skills that he wanted to add to his arsenal. Having this opportunity would further strengthen his fighting ability.

As he was still caught up in the delight of receiving such rewards, the Zombie Skirmisher jumped out of the corridor with its claws ready to strike.

However, Chuck was quick to bind it with his flame whip. He then held it mid-air for Dim Dim to throw brittle vials at. Each vial was filled to the brim with Holy Water, and the Dim Sum God used five just in case.

The pitiful Mini Boss screamed as its entire body ignited in flames before turning into a black mist, leaving its Monster Core behind.

Alex's killing zone could greatly weaken monsters up to Rank 5.

In short, the moment the Mini Boss entered the sanctuary that Endless Horizon had prepared, it became as weak as a Rank 2 Zombie Wolf, which was quite easy to kill.

Just as Chuck picked up the Rank 4 Core, the sound of countless bats screeching reached their ears.

"Alex…" Nessia frowned.

"Don't worry." Alex gave the young lady a thumbs-up. "Trust your rune magic."

A moment later, countless Rank 2 Bats flew into the cavern, only to screech their last.

The dozens of Rank 3 Bats, who were mixed in the group, were easily handled by Dim Dim. It simply tossed brittle vial after brittle vial of Sun Stone Powder.

These brittle vials detonated and unleashed a radiant flash of light, exploding like fireworks within the dark mists caused by the dying bats.

< Level Up! >

< Level Up! >

< Level Up! >

The sound of leveling up was like music to Alex's ears. He had already leveled up thirty-five times since the start of the Dungeon Outbreak. His goal to reach Rank 3 seemed more and more achievable with each passing moment.

When he entered the dungeon, his combined stats were 330.

After leveling up thirty-five times, his combined stats were now at 435.

The moment his overall stats—excluding Stamina, Magic, and Luck—reached 500, he would finally break through to the next rank.

With his opponents getting stronger, Alex badly needed a powerup right now. Fortunately, the Dungeon Outbreak was the perfect place to gain some experience points, which not only benefited him but his entire team as well.

"Is it just me, or have I been getting stronger?" Chuck muttered as he casually used his Fire Whips to hit the Rank 3 Bats that were barely alive after entering their sanctuary.

It was not only him who felt this way.

All of them, excluding Professor Arabella, Theo, and Cassandra, had indeed become stronger through their party-wide experience sharing.

In order to avoid this topic, Alex coughed lightly and made a declaration.

"Those bats are from the Fourth Floor," Alex said to inform everyone. "Once the bats disappear, we will evacuate the dungeon."

Alex believed that he could still handle the monsters from the Fifth Floor. However, he didn't want to take any more chances.

As soon as he reached Rank 3, he would leave the Dungeon without a second glance.

He had more than enough monster cores to gain a profit from this experience. He had also decided to dump all of his stat points to Constitution.

Why?

Because he planned to raise his Health Points, so he could lean on his stacked passive reflection ability from his skills and equipment!

———

Alex Stratos

Age: 17

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Mana: 327/327

Job Class: Oathkeeper

Subclass: Demon Slayer

Strength - 85 [+6]

Intelligence - 35 [+3]

Dexterity - 20 [+3]

Agility - 110 [+3]

Constitution - 185 [+4]

Stamina - 185[+4]

Magic - 324 [+3]

Luck - 34 [+3]

AP: 23,740

Divine Skill: Voice of the End.

Unique Skill: Power of the Verdant Throne.

Active Skills: Oathkeeper's Duty, Shield [EX], Shield Bash, Unyielding Pact, Echo of the Sworn, Balance Breaker, Shield Charge, Rear-Ender Thrust, Enchant Fire, Enchant Holy, Culling Blade, Grand Cross, Light.

Passive Skills: Improved Stone Throw, Head Shot, Rebuke of Steel, Shield of Thorns, Multi-task.

[Difficulty Level: Hell Mode]

———

Just like how he'd defeated Willow in the Mistral Weave Forest, Alex finally decided to become a tank since his Strength and Agility stats were now high enough for him to fight at close quarters.

Also, his Unique Skill, which was the power of the Verdant Throne, would be more effective the more he put his points into the Constitution stat.

———

< Second Half Of Verdant Throne >

— Increases your stamina regeneration rate by 200%

— Increase your healing regeneration by 200%

— increase your physical defense by 100%

— Once a day, when your health point goes lower than 10%, you will instantly regain 50% of your maximum health.

———

'Once I become a Rank 3 Oathkeeper, I will gain more skills in my Oathkeeper Skill Tree,' Alex thought.

The young man believed he would need to become a Rank 3 Oathkeeper in order to face the Third Arc of the Story, which would happen in the Kingdom of Faelarun, where the Second Chain Quest was waiting for him and his club members.

He had one more trump card, and that was the First Half of the Verdant Throne, which was with Latifa for safekeeping.

The moment he and Latifa fought together, like they had in the Trial, Alex's strength would once again gain a power-up, which might be enough for him to face Rank 4, and even Rank 5, opponents if the conditions were right.

For now, his priority was to gain as many experience points as possible to reach Rank 3 and end this dungeon expedition with a bang.