The Library of Evergreen had become strangely familiar to Sam.
What once felt like a forgotten temple now felt almost… comfortable.
Scorch marks decorated the stone floor.
A few cracked pillars leaned slightly from repeated magical impacts.
A stack of opened spellbooks covered the study table.
And at the center of the chamber stood Sam, breathing slowly after another long training session.
Lightning flickered faintly around his fingers before fading.
Two weeks of constant practice had done exactly what he hoped.
Storm magic now felt natural.
Not something he cast.
Something he simply did.
Sam stretched his shoulders and wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Alright… system."
A blue screen flickered to life in front of him.
SYSTEM STATUS
Name
Sam
Level
15
EXP Progress
9,240 / 30,000
---
CORE STATS
Strength: 292
Speed: 304
Endurance: 296
Mana Power: 345
Magic Control: 318
Perception: 281
Human Comparison
Average Human Strength: 10
Sam: 292
→ 29× stronger than peak human
Average Human Speed: 10
Sam: 304
→ 30× faster than peak human reaction and movement
Average Human Endurance: 10
Sam: 296
→ Body durability equivalent to reinforced steel and extreme stamina
Average Human Mana Power: 0–3
Sam: 345
→ High Tier Mage Level
Sam whistled.
"Yeah… that explains the jumping across buildings thing."
The screen shifted.
SKILL PROFICIENCY
Storm Magic Mastery
41%
Lightning Compression
Intermediate
Mana Sphere Manipulation
Advanced
Telekinesis
Advanced
Basic Mana Enhancement (Body Reinforcement)
Advanced
Swordsmanship (Demon Eye Sword)
Intermediate
Combat Adaptation
Passive — Active
Sam nodded slowly.
"Still a lot of room to grow."
The system displayed the final category.
TRAITS ACQUIRED
From Oozer Mutants
• Acid Resistance (Moderate)
• Toxic Gas Resistance (Minor)
• Enhanced Pain Tolerance
From Vampires
• Blood Corruption Resistance (Minor)
• Night Vision (Minor)
• Enhanced Agility (Minor)
FromFrom Dungeon Creatures
• Stone Skin Resistance (Minor)
• Mana Density Adaptation
• Combat Instinct Amplification
Unique Perks
• Assimilation Ability (Copy abilities of defeated enemies)
• Passive Evolutionary Adaptation
• Video Game System Interface
Sam leaned back in his chair.
"Honestly… that's kinda crazy."
Two weeks ago he was barely surviving fights.
Now he was something entirely different.
A grin slowly spread across his face.
"But…"
He looked toward the dark tunnels leading deeper into the dungeon.
"…I didn't come here just to read books."
Sam closed the system window.
He grabbed his bag.
The Demon Eye Sword hung at his waist.
Lightning flickered around his boots.
He walked toward the library exit.
The tunnels beyond were darker than before.
Deeper.
Older.
This dungeon clearly extended far beyond the areas he had explored earlier.
The stone walls changed as he descended.
New runes appeared.
Strange glowing fungi illuminated the corridors.
Occasionally he heard distant roars echoing through the maze.
Sam smiled slightly.
"Now this feels like a real adventure."
He stepped carefully through a narrow stone archway.
The hallway opened into a massive underground cavern.
Water dripped from stalactites high above.
Ancient bridges stretched across deep chasms.
Ruined towers stood scattered throughout the cavern floor like the remains of an underground city.
Sam's eyes widened.
"…Whoa."
This place was huge.
The system chimed quietly.
NEW AREA DISCOVERED
Evergreen Subterranean Ruins
Recommended Level: 15–20
Threat Level: Moderate–High
Sam cracked his knuckles.
Lightning sparked between his fingers.
"Perfect."
He stepped onto the ancient bridge leading into the ruins.
Far below in the darkness…
Something large moved.
Stone shifted.
A low rumbling growl echoed across the cavern.
Sam grinned.
"Alright dungeon…"
Lightning surged around his arms.
"…show me what you've got."
The bridge creaked softly beneath Sam's boots.
Not loudly.
Just enough to make the silence feel heavier.
Below him stretched a black abyss that swallowed the faint glow of the fungi growing along the cavern walls. Water dripped from stalactites far above, each drop echoing through the cavern like a ticking clock.
Sam moved slowly.
Carefully.
For once he wasn't sprinting through danger.
Something about this place made him instinctively cautious.
His perception stat was screaming at him.
Something is wrong.
He reached the end of the bridge and stepped onto ancient stone flooring.
The architecture here was different from the library above.
Older.
The walls were covered in faded carvings depicting strange magical rituals and tall robed figures standing around massive storm clouds.
Evergreen's people.
Or maybe his students.
Sam ran his fingers along one of the carvings.
"Man… what happened down here?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
He lifted his left hand.
A small mana sphere appeared, glowing blue and lighting the corridor ahead.
His right hand rested firmly on the Demon Eye Sword.
The blade pulsed faintly.
It always did when supernatural beings were nearby.
Sam took a step forward.
Then another.
The corridor stretched on for what felt like forever.
The walls narrowed gradually, forcing him deeper underground.
The glowing fungi disappeared.
The air became colder.
Drier.
The silence grew thicker.
Even Sam's breathing sounded too loud.
He whispered to himself quietly.
"…Okay this place is officially creepy."
His voice echoed down the hall.
But something strange happened.
The echo didn't sound right.
It came back distorted.
Almost like… something else was repeating it.
"…creepy…"
"…creeeepy…"
Sam froze.
His grip tightened around the sword.
His mana sphere brightened.
"Yeah I don't like that."
He kept walking.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Then another.
The dungeon twisted deeper and deeper like a maze.
Sam passed collapsed rooms, broken stone doors, and ancient laboratories filled with shattered magical equipment.
At one point he discovered a room filled with old wizard robes hanging from hooks.
They had long since turned to dust.
Another chamber contained cracked glass tanks that once held magical creatures.
Whatever Evergreen had been studying here…
It was far beyond simple storm magic.
Sam eventually reached a narrow staircase descending even further.
He stood at the top for a moment.
"…Why do I feel like this is a bad idea."
Then he shrugged.
"Adventure."
And stepped down.
Hours Later
The corridor had become almost completely dark now.
Only Sam's mana sphere lit the way.
His footsteps echoed through endless stone hallways.
But now something else echoed too.
A strange wet sound.
Like something sliding slowly across stone.
Sam stopped walking.
The sound stopped too.
He narrowed his eyes.
"…Hello?"
Silence.
Then a faint whisper.
Not from ahead.
Not from behind.
But from inside the walls.
"…thinking…"
Sam's skin prickled.
"What?"
The whisper came again.
"…thinking… thinking… thinking…"
The Demon Eye Sword suddenly pulsed violently in his hand.
A warning.
Something supernatural was very close.
Sam slowly raised the mana sphere higher.
The corridor ahead curved into a circular chamber.
Strange organic shapes covered the walls.
Veins.
Pulsing flesh.
Sam frowned.
"…That wasn't here earlier."
Then the flesh on the wall moved.
A massive shape detached itself slowly from the darkness.
Sam's eyes widened slightly.
The creature looked like a grotesque blob of pale flesh.
Dozens of wrinkled folds.
Long twitching tendrils.
And at its center…
A gigantic exposed brain.
The brain pulsed slowly with purple energy.
Small eyes opened along its surface.
The creature spoke in a whisper that echoed directly into Sam's mind.
"…new thoughts…"
"…new mind…"
"…hungry…"
Sam immediately recognized it.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"No way…"
He lowered his stance.
"Brain Beast."
One of the strange creatures that existed in the distant future of Ooo.
But here it was.
Thousands of years early.
The Brain Beast floated slowly closer.
Its tendrils dragged across the floor with wet scraping sounds.
"…your mind is loud…"
"…storm child…"
Sam blinked.
"Wait… you can read my mind?"
The Brain Beast's eyes blinked slowly.
"…memories… knowledge… magic…"
"…delicious…"
Sam sighed.
"Yeah… figures."
The creature suddenly lunged.
Its tendrils shot forward like whips.
Sam moved instantly.
His speed stat made the movement almost effortless.
He dodged sideways as the tendrils slammed into the wall behind him, shattering stone.
Sam raised his hand.
Three lightning mana spheres formed instantly.
"Okay brain monster…"
Lightning crackled violently.
"…let's see if you can think faster than lightning."
The Brain Beast's psychic whisper filled the corridor again.
"…we will learn…"
"…from your thoughts…"
And the battle began in the silent depths of Evergreen's forgotten dungeon.