If he defeated the monster in that way, it wouldn't trap him in the dungeon, as long as he could beat the final boss. If the boss was even stronger than this thing however, his chances were slim.
There was a long crack running up the side of the cavern wall some distance away, and Jonathan wondered if it was a natural fault in the rock, which could be used to destabilize the cavern. As the monster came trundling towards his position, he ran toward the wall. He got there a few seconds later, and looked up at the crack in the wall, smiling as he saw that it went deep into the rock. The monster behind him cocked back its fist once more, and this time, Jonathan did not move.
As the fist came hurtling in, he dodged out of the way at the last moment, letting the fist crash into the wall. The entire cavern rumbled at that, and the crack began to spider web across the ceiling. Jonathan smiled grimly and began to run for the exit. The pillar of rock was still there, but he had a solution to that.
Empowering his gauntlets with Divinity, he drove his right fist into the rock, splintering it with an application of his Rune of Hatred. The rock broke down the middle, and then he punched it again, destroying it completely. Racing through the gap, Jonathan exited the cavern just before it came crashing down. The monster behind him roared in anger as the ceiling collapsed, and a moment later, essence entered Jonathan. Not much, seeing as he hadn’t been directly credited with the creature’s death but it was enough to give him one last level. A title notification was waiting for him as well, which he quickly opened.
You have gained a title!
Lesser Xenocide:Legendary
You have slain the entirety of a species in your desire to gain more power. This is an impressive feat, even if that race only existed within a dungeon. Continue on your murderous rampage, and progress to new heights of butchery.
Bonuses:+5% to Strength, +5% to Dexterity.
The title itself was disconcerting,but the bonuses were great.He had finally discovered that it was, in fact, the Legendary rarity that began to give stat multipliers rather than simple additive increases. In addition, some of his pathway skills had been upgraded. His Martial Arts skill had gained a single rank, and his fighting style had increased as well, to Novice Rank 9. With this all in mind, he opened his stat sheet.
Jonathan Harlowe
Tier 1
Human(Advanced)
Outsider:Tier 1
Level 47
(80 free points)
Strength
246
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Dexterity
155
Constitution
161
Resilience
210
Intelligence
159
Wisdom
159
Divinity
2
Health:2325/2325
Stamina:3690/3690
Mana:2385/2385
- Titles
Chosen of Sarnakthros:Unique
Nascent Divinity:Celestial
Lesser Xenocide:Legendary
Iron Will:Epic
Refined Form:Epic
Giantslayer:Epic
Avenger:Epic
Lineage Hunter:Rare
Righteous Killer:Rare
- Skills
Smite:Legendary
Unravel:Epic
Warrior’s Trance:Epic
Mana Drill:Rare
Battle Focus:Rare
Focused Scry:Rare
Runes of Power:Rare
Redirect:Uncommon
Identify:Common
- Pathway Skills
Mana Manipulation:Apprentice 1
Martial Arts:Student 8
Runecrafting:Student 6
Truesight:Student 4
- Martial Path
Flowing Hurricane:Novice 9
- Quests
Hellbreaker:Impossible
Complete Vengeance:SSS
There were large increases across the board, and his store of stashed points was becoming immense. Still, he would only use it if he actually needed it, and he suspected that he would be needing it soon, with the final boss of the dungeon.
Jonathan closed his stat sheet and took a look around himself. He was standing in the middle of a strangely smooth shaft that looked almost like a borehole. It sloped gently downwards, and a faint heat drifted up from the bottom. All along the walls, strange glyphs could be seen, none of which he could translate. They were likely the legacy of the lost race that had lived in this dungeon. Jonathan wasn't sure whether this was all fake, made for the purpose of a storyline, or whether there really had been sapient beings here once that had been wiped out by the gorgon and replaced by the troglodytes. It could be either, honestly, but he suspected that this was all fake. There wasn’t any apparent reason for the System to have allowed such a civilization to develop within this dungeon, not least because adventurers would be constantly whittling down their numbers.
On the subject of the System and its conscious decisions, it hadn’t bothered Jonathan in quite some time. He would have preferred to think that it had given up on him, but he knew, deep within himself, that it was merely biding its time. When it struck, it would be quick and without mercy. He would have to be ready for that. Luckily, most of its functions, such as leveling and stat sheets, seemed to be automatic, or else it could have simply shut him out of being able to gain power. If that had happened, he would have been dead by now.
Jonathan took a deep breath and started down the hallway, delving deeper and deeper into the bowels of the earth, or rather, of this dungeon. It was most likely located within a separate dimension or some other place removed from reality, seeing as it was open to manipulation by the System. This entire place had been constructed, which meant that it could very well be nothing more than a few tubes of rock hovering in the middle of the void. In fact, that would make sense if that was what it really was.
Now curious, Jonathan made his way over to the wall, and set his head against it. He couldn't hear anything, which was to be expected, but rather than there simply being no noise, there was actually an absence of noise, something that sucked in all of the sound in its vicinity and canceled it out. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but his enhanced hearing hadn't let him down yet.
Backing up a few paces, Jonathan wondered what to do next. He could keep going into the dungeon, and do what he had set out here to do, but there was an unexplored mystery waiting on the outside of the dungeon, something that he was sure he was not supposed to go near. He had gained great power from exploring something that the System deemed forbidden last time, so perhaps this would be a gateway to even greater power. Of course, there was a good chance that it would simply kill him, but he could move fast enough to escape further down the tunnel if need be. In addition, he had a strange hunch that he wouldn't really be harmed by what was out there, as he had passed through the void on his way to this world, and if that was what was truly out there, then it wouldn't really be able to do much to him. With this in mind, Jonathan cocked back his fist and got to work.