Name: Roy
Level: 1
Strength (STR): $655 \to 780$ (B)
Endurance (END): $795 \to 998$ (S)
Agility (AGL): $1095 \to 1120$ (SS)
Dexterity (DEX): $1290 \to 1330$ (SSS)
Magic (MAG): 0 (I)
Skills: My Lord is Present, Blood for Blood
Magic: None
...
[Great Feat Achieved. Would you like to level up?]
Roy looked at his status scores and the popping notification. After killing the LV.2 Jura, he was undoubtedly eligible to level up to LV.2.
Leveling up requires at least one attribute to reach D-rank or higher, and the acquisition of enough Great Feats (Weiye).
Great Feats, simply put, are difficult achievements—including but not limited to adventuring, fighting, hunting, weapon forging...
Roy stared at the prompt.
With a simple tap, he could become the high-level adventurer envied by countless people, stepping on the necks of over half the adventurers in Orario.
Jura's immense LV.2 power was still vivid in his memory.
He had been suppressed throughout the fight. Only by relying on the accumulated damage on his body—repaid via Blood for Blood—did he manage to barely reverse the situation.
The result was a body covered in scars.
It was as if two small figures were arguing in his head. One side argued that he was here to seek power, and no matter how much his LV.1 status improved, it wouldn't compare to the boost of the next level. He should advance to LV.2 quickly to accomplish more.
The other side countered that power must be built step by step. If he didn't max out his ability scores, he would gradually fall behind the other strong adventurers later on.
Neither side could convince the other.
"It's really not easy to reject this temptation," Roy sighed, clicking "No."
The prompt window closed.
Even maxing out LV.1 scores wouldn't equate to the 100-point boost of the next level. But his goal was the Black Dragon and conquering the Dungeon. He couldn't miss even the slightest chance to increase his base power!
Furthermore, as a germaphobe and perfectionist, the thought of not maxing out his stats was more unbearable than death.
Roy pulled out three different types of potions—Life, Stamina, and Mind—and drank them all, one after the other. Different colored lights flashed across his body.
Under the continuous glow, his condition stabilized.
"Impossible!"
Roy's elimination of Jura was witnessed by the others. Their faces showed disbelief, and the fierce battle paused momentarily.
LV.1 adventurers defeating LV.2 monsters wouldn't have been so shocking, as monsters have the weakness of the Magic Stone, which kills them instantly when struck.
But an LV.2 adventurer wasn't just stronger than an LV.1 novice; they were also more cunning.
They had never heard of such a thing happening!
Looking at the young man's weary figure, Ryuu pursed her lips. It seemed anything unusual happening to him was simply taken for granted.
Looking to the other side, the Elven girl's battle was also nearing its end. With Jura killed by Roy, the three remaining members of the Rudra Familia were thrown into disarray.
This was what adventurers often called "Luck." When you're lucky, you stay lucky. When you're unlucky, the bad luck just keeps coming. They were undoubtedly the latter...
Ryuu, wielding her small tachi (Twin Leaves), utilized the sword technique of her former comrade—Hagusa Kagura—to simultaneously reap the heads of the two Rudra Familia Captains.
At this point, the Rudra Familia was completely annihilated!
Standing on the pile of corpses of the Rudra Familia members, the Elven girl lowered her head slightly, lost in thought. The light in her sky-blue eyes grew dimmer.
Just then, her thoughts were interrupted.
"Catch!" Roy came up to Ryuu and tossed three potions over without hesitation.
Ryuu snapped back to reality, clumsily catching the potions. Hesitation crossed her small face.
Seeing that she still hadn't drunk them, Roy said impatiently, "If you die, who will protect me? Consider it payment for protecting me."
Ryuu gripped the three potions tightly and said earnestly, "I will pay you back for these potions."
Roy waved his hand indifferently. He was speechless with this single-minded Elf. He originally thought he had picked up a super-useful mercenary, but now it seemed her usefulness was matched by the trouble she caused.
If he hadn't interrupted her, who knew what kind of deadlock her mind would have reached?
After achieving her revenge, the Elven girl hadn't thought about how to live on, potentially collapsing like a kitten abandoned by the world, only to be picked up by Syr Flova and made a tavern waitress...
Roy was exhausted and leaned against a withered tree to rest, letting the remaining Pure Titans kill the emerging Dungeon monsters while he took a break.
Ryuu drank the three potions, and her condition obviously recovered significantly. "What should we do next?"
Unknowingly, Ryuu subconsciously sought Roy's opinion. Staying here would result in being worn down by the endless Dungeon monsters. They had two paths: escape to the safe floor on the eighteenth floor, or wait for others to dig out the blocked entrance back to the ninth floor.
"There's no need to choose. Look." Roy gestured to the collapsed area leading to the ninth floor.
Ryuu looked over.
"Hurry!"
The voice of adventurers came from behind the collapse.
It made sense upon reflection. Shakti, who had stayed on the ninth floor, would surely have returned to the surface immediately and sent Ganesha Familia members down to dig through the collapse.
With a loud bang, the passage was completely cleared.
"Ryuu!"
Shakti rushed in anxiously. Seeing Ryuu alive, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"That corpse is a Rudra Familia executive. There are more here, too. What exactly happened?"
"There are the two Captains' heads as well."
"They were LV.3s!"
The Ganesha Familia members who followed Shakti into the cavern were shocked, letting out screams as they saw the countless corpses.
Counting the bodies, although some had been eaten by Dungeon monsters and Pure Titans, the remaining corpses proved one fact: the Rudra Familia was annihilated!
...
As the number of adventurers increased, the Xenos dared not remain on the upper floors and quietly headed toward the lower levels.
Lyd, the Lizardman, spoke excitedly, "Sneaking up here was well worth it. We saw many good things."
Rei, the Siren, cupped her cheeks with her wings, her eyes showing fascination.
"That young man is the bravest human I have ever seen."
To defeat an LV.2 with LV.1 strength, the wisdom and courage he displayed commanded their respect.
Gros, the Gargoyle, said coldly,
"Hmph. Allowing that kind of human to live will only cause us great trouble in the future."
"Gros, our goal is to coexist peacefully with humans."
Lyd said helplessly.
Gros replied angrily,
"That's your wishful thinking! Don't forget how many of our kin have been captured by those despicable humans!"
Lyd and Ray fell silent. A group of adventurers was hunting them using cruel methods. It was rumored that the group was linked to the Dark Factions, which was why they had run up to observe when they heard the Rudra Familia, also part of the Dark Factions, was having a War Game.