Zane sat by the fountain, munching on one of the last pieces of dried meat that he had. He wasn't sure how many days he had been in the dungeon, as he had no way of keeping track of time. He had slept by a fountain on a couple of occasions, so he was sure it had been at least 2 days. Still, he hoped you found some other food before leaving this dungeon.
He started thinking about this last floor and how difficult it might be. It all depended on whether or not he met any knights who weren't elites and how big the groups of other rats would be. He was confident in his abilities and now he had these two new skills to help him kill more difficult opponents. He also had his own stats to consider.
Name: Zane Mangold
Age: 21
Race: Human
Class: Unassigned
Level: 7
Exp: 80/6400
Strength: 49
Dexterity: 92
Intelligence: 52
Wisdom: 30
Constitution: 83
Health: 1005/1005
Mana: 545/545
He had leveled up two times since he fought the rat soldier on the 4th floor. His leveling seemed to have gone fast at first, but now it has significantly slowed down. Five levels in the first four floors and then only two in the last five. That doubling of the experience required really slowed things down.
No matter how much experience was required to level up, he still had to kill the monsters to get it. He wondered just how powerful these skills were and was looking forward to testing them.
He looked over at the kitten who was asleep on his lap, purring contently as it waited for him to be done. He was grateful again for the companionship it brought to him, even if there was some illusion to their relationship. He realized that he didn't really understand the cat, but it meowed him when he talked to it and so he imagined what words he thought it was saying. It made him smile, and he needed that right now. Whether this cat showed up on its own or was a gift from Érimón's, he really didn't care.
To put the few items he had out back in the pack and slid it on while he was sitting. Lifting the kitten into his arms, he stood up and put the kitten on the top of his pack. He went through the entrance into the labyrinth area of the floor to begin the last portion of this dungeon dive.
As he walked down the long corridor, he could feel the excitement building in him. He should have some decent fights on the way to the boss room. He was expecting the fight with the boss to be even more epic than his last one. The pause in his thoughts as he thought about the fact that he was looking forward to the fighting. At first, he had been very bored with the fights that he'd been having with the dungeon rats and mutant rats. Now soldiers, officers, and knights, ensured the combat had become challenging and there was a chance that he might actually die. For some reason that excited him. There must be something wrong with him.
He guessed it was just part of being an adrenaline junkie. He wondered what they called it on this world. He'll find out when he finally starts meeting people. In the distance he could see several figures waiting in a larger open area. As he got closer, he recognized the silhouettes of two ratmen soldiers and one sergeant.
When he got close enough, Zane banged his sword on his shield several times, the noise echoing through the halls. The Ratmen quickly looked at him, and the sergeants gnarled something as it pointed its weapon at him. The two soldiers began running towards him.
As the first of the soldiers got near him, Zane took the initiative and attacked. "Piercing Strike!" When he activated the skill, he launched forward at an incredible speed, his sword piercing the chest of the soldier with ease. The soldier dropped dead to the floor as he pulled his blade from the corpse.
The other soldier attacked and Zane was able to block it with his shield. With his shield in front of him, he activated his other skill. "Bash." He pushed forward with his shield, the energy spike from the shield enchantment forming on the front. The spike penetrated the chest of the rat as Zane shot forward and bashed the rodent with his shield.
The soldier got a shield up, but the bash slammed it back against its chest and the energy spike pierced the barrier and stabbed into the rat. It fell to the ground as the spike disappeared. Zane looked at the Sergeant, which was hissing at him, and waved his shield in a come hither motion.
The Sergeant sprinted forward, charging. Zane crouched in a defensive stance, blocking and redirecting the strike that came when the sergeant was within arm length. As he shifted his weight, he activated piercing strike. His sword arm shot forward, stabbing his blade into the throat and through the head of the rat.
"Kitty, these skills are awesome. That was the fastest fight I've had against three of the soldiers rats and better. I think this is going to make a real difference in the next boss fight."
" Meow."
"No I don't think this is going to make them a pushover. I'm just saying that with these skills, it won't be as hard for me to kill them when I get an opening."
"Meow."
Zane shook his head and gathered up the few coins that these ratmen dropped for loot and continued into the rest of the floor. He thoroughly explored the floor, picking up mainly money and teeth. He was most pleased with the effectiveness of the skills he got, though he did feel it made the fights a little too easy. He had to remind himself of what the kitten was trying to get at. These skills didn't make him invincible.
He reached the boss room door and defeated the rats that were guarding it. He stood in front of the door, in awe of it. It was carved in exquisite detail. There was a line of carving for each of the floors, showcasing the different ratmen that had been on the floor and then a larger version of the boss of the level. It did make Zane a little worried as the store was different from all the other doors at the end of the levels. The luxury of it indicated that whoever was behind this door was in a higher position than the other bosses he had fought.