Ding!
[YOU HAVE SLAIN A SEQUENCE SEVEN DRIFTER: SLOB]
[YOU HAVE EARNED 12 STAT POINTS]
[User's core is brimming with mana]
[THE CONDITION: OVERPOWER TARGET HAS BEEN FULFILLED]
[DOES USER WISH TO EXTRACT SAINT—YES/NO]
Letting out a heavy sigh, I reviewed the system notifications, but something peculiar hovered beside the main window. "What?"
[DOES USER WISH TO USE SAINT XXX TO ENHANCE EXISTING SAINTS—YES/NO]
'So I can use a newly acquired saint to upgrade an existing one… I suppose that would be more efficient than allowing them to grow alongside me—having two options is always better than one.' I smiled.
It was a gamble but I wanted to know what will happen.
"Yes."
Ding!
[WHICH EXISTING SAINT DO YOU WISH TO UPGRADE]
"Gumiho."
[SHADOW SAINT GUMIHO IS EVOLVING]
[GUMIHO HAS ACQUIRED A THREAD OF CONSCIOUSNESS]
[FIFTH-TIME LIMIT—10 SECONDS]
[USER CAN NOW STOCKPILE]
[ONE RANDOM TALENT FROM SLOB HAS BEEN GRANTED]
Energy surged within me, as my chest burned with a strangely soothing sensation. A dim light radiated from my chest, and in a flash, Gumiho materialized before me—no longer resembling a shadow.
"You're white," I muttered, gazing at the snowy feline circling my feet.
'Meow.'
My face flushed at the sight of the adorable creature—no, adorable barely described her appearance.
"Cute," I whispered. "That being said..." I paused, then added, "I can see you."
The shadow lurking behind the pillar shrieked before stepping into view—unsurprisingly, it was Amy.
"Oh, nice seeing you Kai. Amy was definitely not hiding and waiting for you to finish," she stammered.
"You could have helped, you know?"
"Hmm… Yeah, sorry."
"Forget it. How did you even get here?" I asked.
"Oh, that. You see…"
Amy proceeded to explain her situation. Unlike me, who had been dropped into a relatively calm zone, she landed amidst a horde of monsters and had to fight her way through.
"But Amy doesn't understand how we both ended up here. Was it an interference from the demonic humans?"
"I'm just as lost as you are," I responded, spreading my arms in confusion.
"Is that so?"
'It's not like I can tell her everything I know,' I sighed, moving toward the corpse.
"I think I know how to clear this gate." Amy's voice pulled me from my thoughts, prompting me to raise a brow.
"You do?"
"Yes. On Amy's way here, she saw symbols that resembled runes—Amy believes this gate is incomplete… Maybe because we were forcibly pulled in, the dungeon couldn't fully materialize," she explained.
'What she's saying makes sense,' I thought, resting my hand firmly on my jaw.
It appeared I had been relying so much on my knowledge of this world that I failed to think outside the box.
"For now, I think we should rest until morning. Then we can figure out a way out of here." Amy nodded and found a corner to settle in.
The real concern now was determining our direction. Ideally, we'd follow the cryptic phrases of the map and rely on clairvoyance to scout—but I wasn't confident I could decode it accurately.
Especially since the dungeon's instability meant anything could happen.
I sighed deeply before seating myself atop one of the large debris. It was less than an hour to eight, so I had to prepare my camp.
"Maybe I can locate the NPCs of this dungeon."
Though not strictly NPCs, one could argue they were, given that they weren't truly alive and merely existed to assist or hinder mages.
This occurred due to the existence of chronicles within special-grade dungeons. Since these chronicles were once worlds before merging with the demon realm, traces of their former inhabitants persisted as NPC-like entities.
That meant my best course of action was to decipher the map and trace the routes those beings typically used.
I gently rubbed my temples as Gumiho curled up on my lap.
"System, display core stats."
Ding!
[CORE CAPACITY]
Strength (STR): 20
Speed (SPE): 33
Agility (AGI): 47
Dexterity (DEX): 45
Intelligence (INT): 30
Charm (CHA): 18
Endurance (END): 21
Stamina (STA): 20
Luck (LUK): 66
D-Rank Stat Capacity: 300/300
Available Stat Points: 12
As the interface floated before me, I swiftly allocated the available stat points into Strength, Speed, Agility, Stamina, and Luck—2, 2, 2, 2, and 4 points respectively.
I felt a surge of energy within; from the strength of my grip alone, I could tell I had surpassed the D-rank threshold. But one question remained—
"How am I able to utilize stats beyond my rank?" I couldn't comprehend how my system interface functioned, nor how it differed from others. But if it granted me power, I had no reason to complain.
As my thoughts drifted, a voice drew me back.
"Amy's finished with her bath."
I turned to find Amy, who had finished bathing with some water. My face instantly flushed. "Put on some clothes."
I quickly averted my gaze from her figure, which was covered only by a small white towel—that came from god knows where.
"Hihi, did Amy strike a nerve?" she teased, stepping closer to where I sat.
I stood upright immediately and headed for the door. "I'm going to get some air."
But her final words made me stop in my tracks.
"I'm glad."
-----
Breathing in the dry desert air, memories of Earth flashed through my mind.
It all felt surreal—entering a fantasy world and now traversing a dungeon.
"Do I have terrible luck or something? How could all this happen in just three days?" I cursed under my breath, leaning against a pillar. The crimson moon, that always appeared earlier than expected, was breathtaking from a traveler's perspective.
"This isn't so bad," I muttered.
After regaining my composure and slapping my cheeks lightly, I returned to the cathedral and took my bath. By then, Amy was already asleep, clearly exhausted from our journey.
It was around 8:23. Nothing would drag me outside again, so I stayed inside my tent, listening to the shifting sand that sounded like a grinding wave.
My navy-blue tent now shimmered with a purple hue under the crimson moonlight. Moans and growls echoed in all directions.
Sitting upright, I activated clairvoyance and began analyzing the map.
It was worn—faded brown with a compass at its edge, featuring coordinates of various cities that once existed.
Four major cities, to be precise. From what I had deduced, I was at the outskirts of a city called Thebes, essentially a massive tomb marked as a death zone—the domain of the Archaians.
The night dragged on as I pored over the map again and again. The Nefertari people's language was runic—runes.
I wasn't an archaeologist, but fortunately, one of the main supporting characters was versed in runes. That bit of background helped me interpret the content, however faintly.
[YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR TALENT: CLAIRVOYANCE HAS INCREASED]
[YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF RUNIC LANGUAGE HAS INCREASED]
Rubbing my tired, baggy eyes, I let out a yawn. "That should do it," I whispered.
Tucking myself in, I drifted off. The following day would be taxing.
------
The morning began quietly—aside from the fact that Amy was overly energetic and standing right outside my tent, which just happened to be open.
After a breakfast of unpleasant canned beans, we proceeded north, away from the Tomb Thebes. I was particularly familiar with the area, as it was one of the four Tier Three gates that would emerge in the world.
The path we followed was coated with the same golden sand that surrounded the cathedral. The only structures in sight were ruined pyramids, their vast rubble providing excellent cover.
Large graphite stones littered the landscape, as if remnants of a once-massive structure smashed by a colossal hammer.
"Drifter ahead," I alerted Amy, who was standing a few steps ahead.
"Okay," she responded, rolling up the sleeves of her oversized, wrinkled white shirt. It was paired with tight trousers that accentuated her curves.
A towering drifter emerged from behind a rock, its arm shaped like a massive curved blade. Cloaked in a hood that obscured its face, it floated silently in the air.
Its back was hunched, and a red glow emanated from beneath its hood. Steel clashed against steel as sparks lit the air in front of its crossing arms.
[YOU HAVE ENCOUNTERED A SEQUENCE SEVEN DRIFTER: HUNCHED RIPPER]