Chapter 9: Trickery

Aria widened her eyes when she saw the notification.

Along with it, time started to flow once more.

The Ogre's stone was already halfway to its destination.

She didn't have an analysing skill, so she wasn't even able to know the specifications of the skill.

The name sounded like a defense skill, so she cast it with a large volume.

"[Armor Break]!!"

[Skill [Armor Break] activated. One blow will unconditionally be absorbed by the System.]

[Cost: Complete vulnerability for three hours. <Player>'s health will stay at 100. <Player>'s mana will stay at 0. ]

Indeed, the ogre's stone landed on thin air as it was repelled by an invisible barrier.

Her mana depleted down to 0. She was hit with a staggering headache as she stumbled and slipped.

Her health also went down. In the blink of an eye, the red indicator for her health had settled itself nice and snugly on the number 100.

The Ogre was in the verge of death even before it threw the stone.

That was his last attempt at harming the two intruders who came into his lair.

The ogre's last struggle ended as it was taken out by the bleeding effect.

It collapsed on the ground and made a heavy sound.

Aria's iron sword broke along with the force.

The System notification quickly popped up.

[Level C Red Ogre <Mad> successfully murdered.]

[Experience points increased by 60000.]

[Level increased by 1.]

[Status points restored.]

[Dungeon Clear: Red Ogre (83% damage dealt)

Clear Conditions: Dungeon Boss Red Ogre (1/1).

-Since the dungeon was cleared by two individuals, the basic rewards will be shared accordingly to their contribution percentage.

-Since the <Player> contributed more than 50% damage to the dungeon, the rune will go to them. The <Player> may choose to share the items if needed.

-Since the <Player> contributed more than 50% damage to the boss, the items will go to them. The <Player> may choose to share the items if needed.

Completion Rewards: [C-ranked Dungeon Rune], [Halvargg (Longsword)], 20.000 SP, 15000 EXP, +2 Status Points.]

'Again with the SP.' Aria hadn't found out how to use the so called System points yet.

She allocated the newly obtained status points and proceeded to check the details.

Aria Schreiner | Lv.14

Title: <Adapter> | Stage 2

Job: -

EXP: 25893/48665

HP : 100/4025

MP : 0/355

System Points(SP) : 20.000

Strength: 33

Vitality: 25

Agility: 25

Intelligence: 32

Dexterity: 25

Remaining status points: -

Skill:

[Tempered Body Lv. MAX]

[Armor Break Lv.-]]

'..It's over.' The skill [Armor Break] felt like she was just thrown off a cliff and was miraculously saved by an unknown entity.

Her health and mana took a nosedive as a result, but her life was saved.

Three hours.

The vulnerability effect stayed for three hours.

Even a level up didn't make the number rise back.

'Scary.' Aria frowned. If the Ogre still lived on, even a stray pebble from him would kill her.

100 was absurdly low. Not to mention the 0 mana.

Several notifications rang.

[You are able to conquer this dungeon.]

[You are able to absorb its core.]

[You are able to conquer this dungeon.]

[You are able to absorb its core.]

"Huh?" The System was yet again giving her sudden announcements without attaching proper knowledge.

It really brought her to wonder and doubt her own intelligence. Was she supposed to understand this?

"Conquer seems too troublesome... Let's try absorbing the core first,"

[Absorbing the core of a low tier C rank Dungeon.]

[Obtained a new Main: <Scarlet Vines>.]

"..!" Aria was surprised. Not a rune, but a Main.

'So I'm not borrowing a rune's power, I'm turning it into my Main directly?' Aria was amazed. She had heard from Yoo Jin that Main users were substantially stronger than those who borrowed the power of runes.

If this was the case, then she could grow into an unimaginable monster.

Her cheat, <Adapter> would not be something that benefited her power-wise, but her foundations, the basics she possessed, everything would be powered up.

Thinking on the matter, she questioned on whether her [Tempered Body] skill was actually sourced from the <Adapter> ability.

'I have no Main, but at the same time, I could have every single Main in the world. I just need to collect them.' She summarized.

'I just don't understand why summoning isn't listed down. I succeeded in summoning Dianthe...'

There was still the fact that the System hadn't given her any updates yet in regards to her Main ever since it went to do the repairs.

'It's a shame that I can't know about the runes' uses unless I absorb it directly. Which means.. I'm given a 50/50 chance on which option gives more benefits.'

Conquer, or absorb the rune as is.

What would Conquer be? Could it be, the dungeon would be hers?

'There's no guide on this.. So I have to learn from my own experience.' Aria's desire to clear another dungeon and test the other option spiked up considerably.

"Kid, how can I enter more dungeons? Preferably alone,"

Aria knew that she would have to fight other hunters if she had to go in with a set team. Unless the party was arranged by her, with full understanding of her circumstances, her growth would be hindered.

'Though, remembering the party I once had makes me reluctant to do so.'

Betrayal.

No matter how loyal one was at a certain point, they could have a 180° change anytime. The risks would always be present.

She was given a second chance. Her wariness increased, but her goal.. if it was still possible, she wanted to try one more time.

Achieving Unity.

She was confident that she could handle the dungeons solo. For now, her maximum output was that of a low tier C rank dungeon.

She had to be careful, as she didn't know how large the disparity between the low tier and the middle or high tier of the same dungeon rank was.

Another problem was her mana depletion. She had to find a source of mana. Her mind leaned towards trying to summon a creature that could temporarily act as her mana bank, but no reasonable creature came to mind.

Her biggest fear was running out of mana on a high physical resistance monster.

Looking at the past experiences, the monsters had existed even back in her time. Which would mean that she'd start seeing other familiar monsters as well.. including those who physical attackers dreaded.

Spiritual monsters, like Dianthe, for example, had to be exterminated through a magical attack. This was why a party had to be balanced. Swordsman and berserkers were common physical attackers. Paladins and tanks as the defense, mages and priests as the supports. Assassins, archers, and hunters as the stealth team. Of course, the deviations like summoners, battle maidens, and other jobs were viable as well, but the ones listed were the commonly found ones.

Every single role had to be filled up to guarantee everybody's safety.

In her case, she had both physical and magic attackers lying in her summons, so she was able to form a sturdy army by herself.

The only problem was, all of that was reset. And the rules that applied back then couldn't be applied to today.

"Hmm.. there are associations and guilds that can purchase and reserve the dungeon, but the cost is astronomical. Sane people usually enters with a party anyways.. Well, there are cases where high - ranked hunters enter alone or with a small party, but they'd have to be the leaders, or an important member of their guild to have such authority," Yoo Jin explained. He was quite knowledgeable.

"Guilds.. no, I can't do that. Any other option?"

"These kinds of dungeons, I guess?" Yoo Jin crossed his arms.

Aria was informed of how the dungeon system works, and how they had to be reported and analyzed in order to obtain basic information like ranks and the categories.

"This dungeon is a C - rank, right? Well, the trio I brought here thought that it was D - ranked and agreed to enter. This dungeon was not yet analyzed, and they ended up making a rash decision like that. That's why, although you can enter these dungeons, it'll be equivalent to risking your life if your prediction of the dungeon's grade is false," Yoo Jin explained.

'Something's weird..' Aria frowned.

"...Kid, what level are you?"

"Hm? 23, but?" Yoo Jin replied.

Aria realized how weird the coincidences were.

"What a crafty brat you are," Aria narrowed her eyes.

"..Why?" Yoo Jin asked, not minding the comment.

"I got 70000 EXP from the Ogre. You said that whoever contributed the most to the monster's death would gain the same amount of EXP as their percentage of damage. You did around 2000 damage. That's one sixth of the HP,"

"In short, simple maths: you should've earned 14000 EXP from the Ogre, in addition to the 15000 EXP from the dungeon quest, you should've gained 29000 EXP in total, enough to level up by one level, not two,"

Aria's observation skills were top - notch. This was a result of her years of experience, she paid attention to every single detail.

Staring down at the silent Yoo Jin, she paid him no heed as she continued to ramble on the facts.

Yoo Jin's unintentional slip was caught by her.

"You said that once more than half a party dies, the gate would be opened for a short while. You purposely led them here and acted like you couldn't fight,"

"Your strength at level 7 was enough to take care of some wolves, but you wanted to watch and stand still,"

"My arrival was not in your expectations, but you wanted to use me as well and gain some experience,"

"My guess is, it's not that you live nearby, but because you want to fight... And, you have a quest to clear this dungeon, huh?" Aria looked at the child with menace.

Yoo Jin grinned.