'So it begins, huh?'
Zypher closed the update windows and went to the news one.
The news was bland, like any other time. Players doing charity works, online gossip and some "professionals" gives tips to beginners on how to do things.
Yet, there were also good pieces, such as Constantine, the youngest son of Charles Baltinoir, is joining the Young League.
There are three Leagues in the Competitive Series: Young, Senior, and Professional.
Each league spans three months per competition, where players pit against each other, and trying to climb up the ranks.
This was the development that happened in his past life, but now, Constantine is stronger.
He knows it because he crossed swords multiple times with the so called genius of the millenia.
He smiled when he remembered the smug face of the man he made a bet with.
'I'll collect the prize myself.'
He told himself, closing the notifications and starting the game for real.
This time, when he entered, he was in the Middle Ring.
The Dungeon's name is Burning Rift, which is home for the undeads who experienced burning.
The dungeon is one of the most notorious dungeons, as it has been eyed by many guilds, but was unable to clear it.
There are also Noble Family's Knights that tried to conquer it, but was unable to do so.
It poses a big problem for it is near the border of Omadd and Zijamp, which makes the awkwardness.
If one city sends knights, one may invade the other city.
This can be prevented by players, but, there are also players in both sides, so it cancels out.
So, the best way is to wait for an opportunity, and just let the Magic Tower seal the said gate.
And this seal, has three parts.
The outer ring, the middle ring, and the dungeon.
The outer ring consists of 50-100 meters from the outside of the seal, until 100 meters inside the seal. It spans almost two hundred meters, and is covered with monsters, which are weak compared to the ones inside.
The next one, is the middle ring, also known as the Cunning Ring.
You won't feel it, but you won't see any monsters ahead, making you feel complacent, but that's the way it will kill you.
The middle ring is the place of territorial monsters, where they nest, or they gather forces.
And that's why there are no low ranked monsters that fight them.
This also holds true to the Horned Wyvern he caught before he went inside, well, Saxon caught it.
Speaking of the bird, Saxon appeared before Zypher, not as a majestic bird he once was, but the one that's perched into his shoulder.
Missile also went out, which also sat on his head, while Briar appeared beside him.
"Master, I feel so much heat in there."
Briar said as she pointed to the center of the seal.
"That's the dungeon."
Saying this, he realized something.
Briar, is his summon that has the powers of Fire, Ice, Wood, Poison and even can control souls.
Her Fire, combined with the power of souls, is high in heat, so that means she has a high Fire Resistance stat, but, her feeling heat, not just warmth, speaks of the danger he is going to face.
Zypher, has two options now.
It is to charge ahead and clear the dungeon, or run back outside the seal and continue his mission.
The most probable choice is to go back, and finish the quest.
But, there's a catch in this.
Malevolence stat comes after killing 50 innocent NPCs, which is like a massacre already.
But, if you kill Gray NPCs, you will have 5 Malevolent stats already.
And Malevolent Stat is counted as 8 per one point to Attack Power, Speed, Dexterity, Energy and Intelligence.
That's 200 points every one kill of Gray NPCs. And that's just Grays.
What more if they kill Bleaks? Or Prisms? Or Spectrums?
And, if he continues the quest, there will be a time that he will need to escort Issa to his fiancé, Anjelo, and he will need strength to protect her, not just from players, but also from monsters.
And with that, he needs to have enough strength to protect Issa.
Now that Magic Night has him in their sights, he must also proceed with caution.
But, just having the dungeon can't upgrade him. He needs to grow more than he needs to be, and this was a fight he has to win.
And, the very first thing he must do is have a variety of attacks.
Stab is his primary attack, plus the Boundless Steps.
But, those are just the firsts.
His weapon skills are also in there, but he lack the way of dealing damage.
And so, Zypher decided to go back to the outer ring.
Not to retreat, but to unlock more skills.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Three quick strikes beheaded some Burnts in the vicinity.
As the heads fell of, he, Zypher, received notifications from the System.
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a Skill - Cut.]
[Congratulations, you have unlocked a Skill - Block.]
He sighed as he saw the harvest for today.
He was feeling the boringness of grinding, but he was able to go over it as soon as he received the rewards.
That's why working is addicting.
Even if it is boring, the rewards (salary) at the end is making you move.
As he was making his way back to the inner circle to rest, he also found some Burnts in the vicinity to kill.
He went back to the plateau he was standing on earlier and decided to rest there.
In truth, the plateau he is standing in now was the only place that is not controlled by any beasts.
This place is filled with monsters, but they are all weak, or dying ones.
He then managed to find a higher platform to see the status of the dungeon.
First, on his left, where he came from, is the south.
It is the farthest one to Omadd, which is why he decided to go there.
This is where it was the closest he can ever be to the heart of the desert.
At his back is where Anjelo and the others are. But, he is far from them, and he knows that this quest may take a few more days from him to finally start this quest.
In front of him is the Southern Sea.
This is where the first crack will appear, and the Merman Tribe will rise, which will attack Acias in the process.
Although, they were weak that time, and there were only few of them, so Caelestia was able to fend them off, and was able to win against invasions that made them famous all throughout the years.
And on his right, is the dungeon entrance that glowed brightly.
As he looked at it, the sheer intimidation he was feeling at first became heavier, making him break the eye contact with the said dungeon.
"Sigh, if only I can level up."
He said as he began to practice what he got.
Cut, as it was stated, is the movement of the blade from one end to another end to another, to sever something.
From paper, to trees, and even metal. There are many ways to use Cut.
Block, on the other hand, is the way of stopping the momentum of an attack completely.
He knew he can't do everything right now, but what he has right now is the true basics.
Now, he has to achieve three more sword Skills to unlock the next phase: the Apprentice of Blades.
Not a class, but a title anyone can have.
The only difference is, this title can be gotten by everyone, even a mage, but they can't use it, because it will be against the course of their class, unless they become a spell blade or magic swordsman.
But, he has no class, so, this is certainly a good thing for him, for he can use any weapon he likes, and make a title for it, and use it.
A jack-of-all-trades.
In the blades, he already has three, and he also has other weapons on him, that he can make titles.
For example, the chakram. Although it doesn't have skills, the Apprentice of Chakrams has a roundabout way to get the said title.
But, he didn't get it right now, because he will not use it in the next few missions he will get.
For starters, he uses Chakrams for ranged fights, or when he is alone, so he can maximize the space, the rotations and the damage.
But, the next missions will have cramped spaces, so he stored it away for now, and began to unlock the title.
Slash, Stab and Block are the first ones he got.
For now, he is going to clear out each region.
He was done with the south, and his next target was the west, when suddenly, the quest box appeared.
[Anjelo, Issa's fiancé, is in rhe vicinity. Find him to deliver the goods.]
"What?"
He exclaimed as he took out the panel.
When he opened it, he saw a notice that Anjelo is 1 kilometer away from him.
Yes, a kilometer away, and he needs to find him to deliver Issa's gifts for him.
He then walked a few directions, and it is still in one kilometer.
So where is he?
He walked towards the dungeon, but the panel was lost.
He moved towards the outer ring, and the same also happened.
The only clue he has now is the mountain.
He climbed back up again, and the said panel opened again.
"So, they're inside either inside, under, or above the mountain."
The radius of the mountain where he stands from is almost one kilometer, and so, he deduced that they are either in one of those places.
And so, what he must do, is to find the way.
"Missile, come out."
The dark slime came out, and he is not just a slime anymore.
From the past few days, he has been eating the defeated Burnts, and he is evolving.
The summons have a different evolution path than that of a player.
A summon, can evolve depending on what they were eating, or what were given to them.
As for Missile, he was given the body of the two Horned Wyverns and some other parts of other monsters that died by his blade.
And so, Missile, the once black mass of slimey stuff has now a horn, which made it look like a devil.
The horns were from the horned wyverns, and it's black body is now having a tinge of red.
"Find me an entrance."
He said and the little guy, using it's body, created a hand out of the gooeyness, and saluted.
It then released small balls from its body, which then grew horns and became like him, but a smaller version.
This is another use of Missile's skill, which can be used for scouting, or covering a large area, but it will take time, so he did what he must do.
Take the next three skills.
Swordsmanship, has seven principles.
And each swordsmanship type can be gotten in the game, which made the game deeper.
Slash and stab are normal moves, which means any swordsmanship type can have it.
But the next skill is what made the difference.
Block, from it's name, kills the momentum of the attacker.
It means that there is a force that he met with the same heaviness, or much greater.
And that's what he is training now.
The Heavy Sword.
Heaviness is not just the weight of the sword, but the force behind it, as well as the difference in the feel of the said attack.
But, heaviness equals power, but Zypher has no power at all.
And that's what he is doing right now.
Although he can't attain power, he can use other's powers, and to make it his, he has to unlock the said part of the Heavy Sword.