The life in the eyes of that hunter seemed to be disappearing; those eyes with a sharp appearance had a small, transparent gleam.
He was sitting on the hard stone of the dungeon. 'I hope I rested eight hours... Ahh, the next rooms will probably have more enemies.'
He stood up with difficulty and walked slowly to the edge of the lake. The water there was cold, so he scooped a little between his hands and splashed it on his face.
He groaned slightly from the shock, but he quickly managed to open his eyes, though they were still slightly weak. 'I have to get to the next room fast; the longer I take, the more trouble the others could have.'
Suddenly, an image appeared in his imagination: a woman with brown hair smiling faintly in the wind, wearing a dress; her eyes were closed, while her hair waved in the breeze.
Adriel blushed as he imagined Azucena; he gently slapped his cheeks. 'Maybe someday I'll be able to see that.'
He stood up again, summoned his gloves, and went to the ascent. Soon he reached the upper area. In this place he touched the wall until, in one section, the system appeared. That thing that seemed to tear reality had clear text.
"Do you want to open the door to the next room?"
"Yes No"
'How strange, they ask you to continue, but not to enter.' He sighed, disappointed, and clicked "Yes."
When he touched the confirmation button, the rock merged with the side of the wall to his left, opening the way for the young hunter.
As he crossed the threshold, the door instantly closed silently.
The young man simply looked around cautiously.
That area was beautiful; hundreds of luminescent colored mushrooms were on the floor, ceiling, and walls, forming exact figures; clearly someone had manipulated it. The moss was different too; there was none on the walls and ceiling, but it was on the floor, arranged as if it were grass.
He summoned his katana and frowned. He narrowed his eyes further; now he was awake and alert, watching every corner of the place.
'Tsk, this is difficult. If I take too much damage from exposing myself, I'll be at a disadvantage in the coming rooms and in the boss room, but I also don't have enough resources to stay still until I see the enemies or the enemy.'
He closed his mouth tightly; one of his gloved hands went to his chin, gripping its tip. 'Think. What can I use as an advantage, or what could they use as an advantage?... I'm a hunter.'
He focused more on the places around him, trying to make more use of his ability to see in the low darkness.
Soon he noticed something: the walls had a small edge where people could walk with some difficulty.
That area was clearly hidden by the controlled lighting of the place. Without thinking much more, Adriel climbed a little, then used his dash to get to the top.
He did not dismiss his katana; he kept it in his right hand, while he used his left to control his balance.
He took slow, silent steps; even if it was stone, feeling that cold rock against him made him nervous.
Soon he came across something strange. A figure was walking in the area in front of him, but unlike Adriel, that thing seemed familiar with walking on it.
The young man's expression and muscles suddenly tensed; for a few seconds he almost lost his balance, though he achieved something worse: a clear crack echoed when he recovered his balance.
He looked somewhat pained, but he looked forward and did not yield. He quickly dismissed his katana and summoned his bow. He drew the bowstring with three fingers. This made two arrows appear.
He sighed heavily and let himself fall outward, no longer on the ledge. With the bow drawn, he shot. He had no time to confirm his hit. First he used his dash to stop the momentum of the fall, dismissed his bow, and put his hands out as he fell against the ground.
"Ag!" Someone screamed when the young man fell to the ground, who was already getting up.
Adriel saw how the figure leaned forward a little, but did not fall from the high area. That touched the arrow that impacted the side of his right arm, but he did not remove the projectile.
Meanwhile, the other arrow was stuck in the hard stone wall; it couldn't even make a scratch. 'One of two: it's better for me to try many than just one.'
The silhouette turned to look Adriel directly in the eyes. "Wow, it seems a new idiot adventurer decided to enter the dungeon. Are you lost?" He pointed at the young man with a finger; it began to glow faintly. "I'll show you the entrance to heaven."
The young man noticed the strangeness instantly and used his dash to dodge left. Immediately he saw how the ground where he had been received a deep cut.
"A movement trick so discreet? You're strange. I haven't seen that; it probably has harsher restrictions."
The same aura began to swirl at the silhouette's feet, only to soon shoot out like a cannonball toward the center of the place.
That thing had a horn on its forehead, specifically on the left side of it. Its murky green eyes lacked brightness; they were deep and fixed. "You didn't use mana; that means you're someone with a more physical class. You probably don't have protection against spells. But it's mere probability."
He was pointing at the hunter with a finger; it swirled the same strange power. 'That's mana, huh? I thought magic was more flashy.'
Just as the finger attack was launched, Adriel jumped, feeling a fierce breeze slip into his clothes for a few seconds.
The man separated his fingers and each one moistened with mana, creating a small light that connected his fingers.
'He's a wind mage; it's a basic element, but apparently dangerous. Now... how do you dodge that?' Adriel watched worriedly as the mana swirled again. Suddenly his eyes opened wide and he summoned his bow.
He jumped backward without hesitation and used his dash, moving at a frightening speed and falling on his back to the ground, then drew the bowstring and shot.
One of the man's palms was pierced by the arrow. With this, the mana stopped circulating through his index and middle fingers, but the others continued their normal process.
Seeing this, the young man smiled to himself, but at the same time became worried. The wind blades shot out from the man's hands. Adriel barely managed to react well; he dismissed his bow and summoned his katana, placing it vertically.
His vital points were not touched, but the sides of his arms and shoulders were filled with small wounds.
'I have a good guess: magic has to pass from a core to what channels it. When I shot my arrow, I broke the internal channels that carried mana to the index and middle fingers.'
After thinking this, he quickly stood up and ran toward the man. 'I think he's an Oni or semi-Oni; if I remember his appearance from mythology correctly, he probably beats me or we're even in hand-to-hand combat.'
He jumped upward diagonally forward, then used his dash. With the katana still in hand, the young man tried to make a downward diagonal slash.
In response, that Oni moved his body abruptly; his hand made an upward crescent strike full of mana. This created a roaring, strong wind blade.
That fierce wind made Adriel move his head aside. With this, both forces impacted. The wind blade was strong, so strong that it broke Adriel's katana, leaving him without an immediate weapon.
'Damn.' Adriel landed on his feet on the ground and did not wait; with a sudden movement he summoned his scythe and drove it into the Oni's skull.
He tried to defend himself, but the mana was swirling in his palm, thinking that a piercing weapon was going to be used.
Adriel exerted more force, enough to split the Oni's skull. "Haaaah. As always, the element of surprise wins."
The hunter fell on his back to the ground; his legs trembled with fear, while the glow in the Oni's hands disappeared along with his life.
"Congratulations, you have obtained a reward for clearing the second room. Cutting Wind Spell, phase: initial. Category: A. Description: fast, fierce, and strong wind blades capable of tearing metal. Ten uses."
"Congratulations, you have killed a Semi Oni. Phase: Initial. Category: A. Class: Wind Student."
A tired sigh came from the hunter as he read what the system was saying. 'So this one did use his strongest option; I think he's the same one who threw at the start... I liked the elf's style more.'
After this final thought, Adriel went to the Oni's corpse and opened his ribcage, but as other times, he didn't find an orb; the result was the same as what happened with the elf.
"Congratulations, you have reached 50% resonance with your class."