Chapter 28. The Third floor.
Gavin took a few steps towards the doorway he entered from. He never felt more powerful after he consumed the heart of the Vampire Lord. He should feel utterly exhausted after fighting the first two floors. He flexed his hand a few times, his entire body felt electrified with energy and power.
Now what to spend the rewards on. Gavin mused as he thought back to the fight. He had better stamina now and magical control. But in a fight where he needed to use more physical means against opponents, he was still lacking.
I have ten free points, perhaps I should do this. Gavin used five free points to increase his strength by ten, and five points to increase his speed by 10.
Status update.
Health one hundred seventy.
Mana eighty-five
Strength forty-four.
Speed thirty-nine.
Agility thirty-one.
Stamina fifty.
Charm five.
Intimidate twenty.
You have one free instant skill level-up available. Veronica filled Gavin with the information before he even got to ask her.
Do you have any recommendations? Gavin asked for her opinion. Over the last two floors, she had really shown how useful she could be, and her judgement was invaluable. Gavin just had to listen to her.
There are many good options that you could choose, Master Gavin. However, judging from what your fighting style is so far, I'd recommend going with Hunter's Howl. Her words filled his mind as the screen popped up in front of him with the option.
Gavin paused for a moment as he considered his options. He was decent with magic for a beginner. The fact that he could use any of the six elements was a secret weapon that would shock most people. His shifting is strong and powerful. But that Hunter's Howl skill, that was versatile in combat as a means of separating groups of enemies or buying some time.
Let's go for the Hunter's Howl. He decided with a firm nod of his head. Veronica clicked accept on the window pop up and a new message appeared before Gavin.
Hunter's Howl skill level two. The Hunter's Howl will now work on stronger opponents. It will gain more effectiveness per point in the Intimidate Attribute.
Gavin grinned. Already this dungeon was proving well worth the time and effort in the first two floors.
Now onto the next floor. He took a few more steps forward, intending to find his Valkyrie guides and move on when suddenly his vision went black as another blue screen popped up.
Alert. The Overdrive skill has ended. The user will now face stamina and mana depletion as a result.
Alert. The user will now be severely drained and in a weakened state until recovery time has ended.
Two alerts appeared before Gavin as his head hit the stone floor. He groaned in pain as a timer counted down in the bottom right of his vision.
Two hours remain.
Two damn hours of this?! Gavin groaned as his entire body burned with pain and fatigue. His limbs were on fire, and he could barely breathe as he lay upon the cold stone floor. The smell of fire and blood filled his nostrils as he struggled to stay conscious.
His arms and legs felt unbearably heavy as he tried in vain to at least reach a sitting position. Note to self, only use overdrive as a last-ditch effort. He mentally chastised himself as he had no other option but to lay on the ground.
"Really wolf? One hard battle and you end up in this state?" A cool feminine, familiar voice chastised Gavin as he heard footsteps approach him.
"Hey, hey, be nice to the pup Astrid! He just took down Count Sucky-face and lived! I'm surprised he walked out of that boss fight alive!" Kara replied to her companion in her sing song tone.
"Yeah, but Kara, look at him. He's a mess." Astrids cold voice grated on Gavin's nerves as the two Valkyries stood in front of him, just outside his field of vision.
"Nice of you two to show up when the fighting's over." Gavin muttered as he groaned from the pain of speaking.
"Did you forget our words from earlier? We are not going to intervene on any floor or in any fight. We will heal your injuries and stamina after each floor, if you survive." Astrid reminded him as she placed her hand on his back, and it began to glow brilliantly white.
She muttered a prayer to her goddess, Lady Lunaria as Gavin's entire body glowed white in response to her magic. He felt all his injuries burn and itch as they were quickly healed by the powerful Valkyrie. Even the countdown timer for the Overdrive skill drawback was rapidly dwindling down to zero under her care.
Gavin soon felt better as his body was healed. He was able to stand slowly as he looked at the women in front of him. "Okay maybe I did forget." He muttered as he rubbed his shoulder where the Vampire Lord bit him.
"That was an impressive fight, Gavin. I thought for sure when that bloodsucker sank his fangs into you that the fight was over!" Kara praised him as she danced around, light as a feather.
"It almost was." Gavin admitted begrudgingly. "What's the next floor?" He inquired from his guides.
"Next is going to be the Draconian's. They are the Demi created by Ares, God of war and fire." Astrid informed him as she started to walk away.
Gavin followed as a bad feeling went down his spine. "They sound like lovely people." He remarked as he fell into step behind Astrid.
Astrid barked out a cold laugh as she turned to face him. "Hardly. The Draconian's are a cold, brutal race. They are obsessed with war, death and violence. In the mortal plane they are disguised as soldiers and mercenaries for hire." Astrid informed him as she regarded him carefully.
"Yeah, like they are super strong and resistant to magic!" Kara leaned in to whisper excitedly.
"Oh fantastic. Another magic resistant race to fight against." Gavin complained. At least he put those stat points in his strength and speed after that last fight.
Astrid nodded. "That's the spirit wolf." She gave him a rare smirk as she turned and headed towards a nearby alcove that led to a staircase.
"We have to go through here to reach the passageway that then leads to the third floor. It has a harsh and unforgiving landscape." Kara chimed in as she danced around the room. "Full of angry volcanoes, wide open fields, desolate and devoid of life."
Gavin sighed as he heard that description. "Well, lets get this going then.
He lost track of just how long he had been inside the training dungeon so far. The concept of time didn't exist here. It could have been days or weeks, and not a minute would pass back in the mortal plane.
Eventually they arrived at a large double wooden door set in the stone of the castle. Black chains crisscrossed back and forth across the door and runes glowed faintly.
Gavin stepped forward this time and placed his hands against the smooth wooden surface. The runes lit up brightly as the chain fell away. The door swung open with a loud creak and revealed the darkness of the path ahead.
"You guys coming?" Gavin called out to his Valkyries as he confidently strode forward, head held high, and shoulders straight. He was resolved to finish this dungeon. To go as far as he could and gain the strength and rewards attributed to the end results. I'll see you soon, Erza. When I come back, you won't believe how much stronger I've become.
He held that thought deep in his heart as he walked down the path. There was a light at the far end that grew brighter the closer they got.
As they stepped out of the tunnel, Gavin shielded his eyes from the brightness while they adjusted. In front of Gavin was a wide open plain, much like what Kara described. Smoke from several active volcanoes billowed towards the sky in the distance.
The earth rumbled with constant quakes as the volcanoes seemed to be in a constant state of eruption. There were no traces of vegetation or animal life out on the plain as Gavin swept his gaze across it.
He could see several large brutish figures not too far off as his vision cleared and adjusted to the brightness. "So, these are the Draconian's huh?" Gavin mused as he narrowed his eyes.
"That's correct. When Kara said they are brutes she meant that. The only thing they care about is war and bloodshed. Violence is their currency. This will be your most difficult fight yet. Do try to survive." Astrid responded as she walked over to the side with Kara.
Alert. You now face the Demi of Ares, rival to your patron god. Do your patron proud and survive the floor. Defeat five Draconian's before the floor boss shows up.Reward, two instant level ups. Instant skill level up.
The sudden quest alert and quality of rewards from the system stunned Gavin. Does the system judge the enemy to be that powerful that it doesn't think I can win? Gavin wondered as he focused on his mana flow and shifted into his were-wolf body.
He gasped suddenly as he felt a strange sensation go through him. You unlocked part of your heritage during the previous Vampire Lord fight. Your shifter form has grown with natural strength. Continue to discover the secrets of your heritage and more power will become available to you. Quest received. Learn what it means to be an Alpha Were-Wolf shifter. Reward. Unlock first evolutionary path.
"What in the seven hells?" Gavin muttered out loud as he felt his body grow. The muscles in his arms thickened slightly as did his legs. His chest and back were wider and thicker with increased muscle mass as the effect of unlocking part of his heritage took place.
Gavin recalled the burst of power he received when the Vampire Lord bit down on his shoulder. He'd have lost that fight if Veronica hadn't reminded him about Erza. Then those words appeared in his mind. He didn't know where they came from, but they felt almost prophetic in nature and familiar to him. If Gavin didn't know any better, he had heard those words somewhere before. But he couldn't recall when or where.
But by speaking that phrase, he had somehow unlocked part of his blood or heritage and gained an increase in strength needed to kill that Vampire Lord. He frowned as he contemplated the rest of the alert. What is an evolutionary path?