[Arc 1] Chapter 3: The Chain Quest

We're going on a hike, we're going on a hike. Hip, hip, hurrah, we're going on a hike. In a cave tunnel!!

People may want to ask for my happy mood, but I'm too hyped over finding this entrance to the next level! And to escape the dreaded floor 9!

Believe me, that place was worse than I've could have imagined myself. I got a peek at a cobra and a tortoise before I left the place with [Identification], and boy those results were bad.

The guy on the top's the tortoise, while the other one's the cobra by the way.

I GOT NO CHANCE IN HELL!!

This place has to be a Dungeon! Please let it be a Dungeon. In the way that there are only weaklings on the first floors. Please!

I don't know whether it was good- or bad luck that made those two monsters pass by me right before I went into the tunnel (hopefully) leading to the next floor. 

The tunnel itself is just as dark as the previous place, only dustier, and with more boulders here and there. On the previous floor, there were lots of water sources here and there, which was good against dehydration. This dry tunnel's a refreshing change of scenery. It doesn't smell like a snake hole either. Wait, do I have a nose?

! My [Danger Sense]'s tingling. Someone is coming down from the tunnel! Let's go ninja behind that boulder for now. [Stealth] and [Camouflage], don't fail me now!

I waited while holding my breath... until two cobras came along. Phew, glad I noticed them. That sudden increase in the [Danger Sense] skill helped. Give it to his scaly majesty.

"(Then this half-year's inspection was done, old chump.)" - Cobra 1

Huh? What?

"(Indeed. It is quite a tedious affair. Why cannot this Genesis God's vestiges be self-sufficient?)" - Cobra 2

I can understand what the monsters are saying! Even if all the other guys only roared like unintelligent monsters... oh, yeah. This must be that [Language Adaption] thing. Guess it only works on languages that have a meaning.

Still, Genesis God? That doesn't sound like stuff you should play around with.

"(Don't say things like that. It is bound to invite a catastrophe.)" - Cobra 1

"(You are right. Even if those Sahuagins do not know the worth of that floor, who knows which people could stumble across this Dungeon?)" - Cobra 2

Some topics I wanna know more about! Let me hear more!

"(Did you smell that?)" - Cobra 1

Oh, crap! Activate [Stealth] and [Camouflage] at full force!

Argh! They're still coming this way! [Stealth] and [Camouflage], [Stealth] and [Camouflage], [Stealth] and [Camouflage]!

"(It's just a regular old rock, friend.)" - Cobra 2

"(Did someone redecorate lately? I wish we had thermal visions like those pests that always try to eat the remains of our meals. It would be easier to figure out if a new smell came from a living being or not.)" - Cobra 1

"(Yes, those small snakes are annoying. That they have some handy skills that only make the irritation grow. To think those pests are sullying this glorious realm of lord Glavras.)" - Cobra

They left for Floor 9 while complaining about the Scavenger Snakes. So it's not only I who hate them.

But still, that was TOO close. Got some info from this suspense horror, but it probably shortened my lifespan. That just now was seriously scary. The only good part was that they weren't the type of monsters from horror movies. I'm bad with those, I think.

Besides, why are cobras more sophisticated than me? It's insulting! Not to mention humiliating.

---

And, I've reached the end of the rope. Or tunnel, if you wanna be figuratively about it.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

New Location of Interest found: [The Water-Knot of Glavras], Floor 8

This Floor is much smaller than Floor 9. It's only the size of a gymnasium, and most of the space is occupied by a huge, illuminating crystal in the center of the room. It hurts my eyes after all these days without any lights. 

Other than that, this place's free from any greenery or water sources, so I have to move on.

But before that, there's something I wanna check. All this talk about "Glavras" and "Dungeon" has made me want to do some research. And this place's as good as deserted, at least for another half year.

After hiding myself behind some cover, in the small chance of something passing by, and looked up this place in the Kigal-Note. 

... Bad news. There is no news!

When I used the Kigal-Note's auto-search function, I got nothing on "Glavras" itself, and on the page about "Water-Knot" of Glavras", the only thing that's written is this:

"A Dungeon created by the vestiges of the Genesis God. Due to this, the Water-Knot of Glavras is outside the Ultimate God's authority, meaning that the gods cannot collect data from the Dungeon on their own."

Well, that's troublesome. And this Genesis God that it was talking about?

According to the Kigal-Note, it's a super-massive energy entity that was worthy of the name of Genesis God. Its powers were so great, even the entity's ego was destroyed by those powers, resulting in a creature of destruction. It sounds more like the beast of the apocalypse than a creator god to me.

The entity felt several gods of different worlds that tried to stop the entity from destroying its world, and many others in the process. Then, twelve concepts of elements, too vague to be called gods, were sent into the fight. The elements leached off the power of the Genesis God and turned into the twelve Ultimate Gods, each as strong as the chief gods of other religions.

The Ultimate Gods then fought and defeated the Genesis God. However, the "corpse" of the Genesis God turned into a new world that overflowed with the powers of the entity. The Ultimate Gods were made the rulers of that world, and created a special "World System" to stabilize the overflowing power. The world was then named after the Genesis God's name; Terra Sol.

... I didn't expect to find out about the creation of the world when I was looking for the truth of the Dungeon. Ehm, then what about vestiges of this god?

Ehm... some parts of the Genesis God's body broke off during its battle with the Ultimate Gods, and those pieces fell to Terra Sol after the world was created. These vestiges throw off the World System's automatic analysis abilities, making the area around the vestige a black box unless you investigate the place yourself.

Crud. No walk-through for me then. Then, is this place the vestige? Hmm...

GWAAAAH!! TURN IT OOOOFF!

Y-yikes. That was a bad idea. I tried to use [Identification] on the huge crystal pillar, and my brain almost got scrambled! With extra crispy bacon on the side even.

The hidden Dungeon, the Water-Knot of Glavras, is a threat to all waters in the world, but due to the interference of the vestiges of the Genesis God, further information about the Dungeon is not acquirable.

People who enter this mirage-like Dungeon, try to establish a connection between it and the World System.

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

You have earned 1.0 Skill Points

Due to "Champion of Alvatria", an additional 1.0 Skill Points were earned.

Quest Clearance EXP acquired.

And this is... what? I got some points, so I don't wanna complain, but an explanation would be just as thoughtful. That, and I got WAY too few points when considering the risks! Sure, it's enough for a skill or two, but my grey matter almost turned charcoal black!

I wanted to leave this stupid floor as soon as possible, but when I was making my way for the entrance to the next floor...

SYSTEM MESSAGE:

Chain Quest discovered: [Bug the Knot (I)]

Alright, now what?

Connection with the Water-Knot of Glavras and the World System is now fulfilled!

From the newfound information gathered from the connection, it is believed that the Dungeon creates a special barrier field by utilizing the vestiges of the Genesis God. This barrier will prevent any higher forces from noticing the existence of the Dungeon unless it is someone stronger than the Genesis God itself.

Plant tracking devices across the Dungeon to bypass the disruption barrier, and put a stop to the devilish Dungeon.

A new Quest, which was made from my actions just now. Should I feel proud? 'Cause I'm only feeling confused.

The Quest itself looks like a delicious offer. Just 1 Skill Point sounds like too little for the trouble, even if it's doubled, but Power Spots are spots of high aether concentrations. [Magic Sight] will find them with no troubles. And hey, it's the first floor. If push comes to shove, I can just look for the exit rather than the Power Spots and leave this crazy place. 

Also, this Quest is probably something like a chain quest you can find sometimes in RPGs. You complete one Quest, and a new one pops up as a result. The difficulty will spike as you keep on chaining the Quests, but so does the reward. Some things may be different from what I know, but whatever. I can check up in the Kigal-Note on my way up the floors.

To be honest, this is quite a good deal for me. I have to start from the entrance, and I've got the [Auto-Mapping] skill to help me remember where the exit is. Meaning I can use this Chain Quest as a sort of training ground. I don't expect that a Grey Demon will be gladly accepted by the outside societies, so why not make use of this hell hole for some serious level grinding?

But, what race should I aim for? The Kigal-Note doesn't explain what actions must be done to evolve into a specific race. All it says is that one gets evolution options after completing several requirements when reaching the level cap.

Maybe I should aim for one of the races I designed? They are the monsters I know the best of on all of Terra Sol. Guessing their evolution requirements should be a piece of cake.

... Though, it depends on whenever those guys are added to the World System...

Well, that time, that sorrow. It's good enough to simply set a reasonable goal, then pick up whatever skills, races, and even classes, based on that goal.

First off, what should the goal be? In, what creature did I design that I have a possibility of evolving into? That whole "Adaptable Demon" thing limits me to the demon race, so I should start from there. How many demons did I design again?

... Kur Kigal. Let's aim for that one.

It is the most human-looking of the whole bunch, and it's a demon of Darkness and Heretic attributes. Since it was designed to be an assassin, it's probably stealth-related, a style I've been dedicating myself to since I was born. 

The requirements for its evolution must be something like being a Darkness- or Heretic attribute demon or having skills of the same attributes. That, and probably a class like Assassin. It wouldn't be weird for that to happen. Let's see what the Kigal-Note has on the Assassin class... 

Tsk. There is such a class, but I need to complete the Rogue class before even thinking about starting it. 

In that case, I'll go the humble way and try to not get into any fights as I go down to the first floor. That reward for setting those tracking devices is enough to cover for the Rogue class. I just need to keep my eye out, so I won't get squished by some random monster.

After getting the class, or fulfilling all the requirements for it, I should aim for the [Discern] skill, since picking any more Monster Skills could move me away from the Kur Kigal-route.

Instead, I should pick Heretic attribute skills, but those are probably better to take with my free initial skill slots. I should also look for some sort of item box skill with them as well. There are no such skills that come from being a demon after all.

... This is gonna be so awesome!

Greydra

Kigal-Note: Classes

Classes:

A class is a profession based on a specific archetype. 

Classes are available from the Skill Shop after completing certain requirements. One can have up to 5 classes, one Main Class, and the rest being Sub-Classes. It is not possible to change classes, except when one upgrades them.

Classes are mostly only used by humanoids, as the World System does not give any heads-up when someone fulfills the requirements for unlocking a class. Instead, a certain Magitech tool is needed to reveal what classes one has completed the requirements for.

As they lack access to such Magitech tools, monsters are practically incapable of obtaining classes. However, some monster races may obtain a class due to evolution. These situations are mostly seen in demi-monster species.

Merits:

A class will grant status corrections to stats that are related to the profession. In some cases, the status could drop instead of increasing, making the selection of classes extremely important.

Classes can also unlock special skills in the Skill Shop that are impossible to obtain in any other way. They also grant abilities when they reach certain thresholds in the special class levels each class has. Most of the time, they are special skills specific to that class.

Types of classes:

There exist five different groups of classes, with each category specializing in a different subject. These are the Warrior classes, the Magician classes, the Scout classes, the Artisan classes, and the Special classes.

Main- and Sub Classes:

The amount of classes one can take is limited to 1 Main Class and at most four Sub Classes.

The Main Class obtains all the special abilities and status corrections of the selected class and is represented as the person in question's main occupation. Meanwhile, Sub Classes only obtain 75% of the status corrections and a limited amount of the special abilities that come with the class. The number of Skill Points needed to obtain the classes differs depending on what type and ranking of the class.

While the Main Class is available to everyone, the Sub Classes have restrictions based on one's racial rank and level. One must also pay an additional price for each Sub Class one obtains after the first one.

The Sub Classes gets unlocked at the following levels:

Rankings of classes:

Classes are divided not only into categories but also in ranks. 

These ranks are created to show the difficulty of the requirements that are needed to be fulfilled to obtain the class.

As a class with more difficult requirements are more powerful than its peers, these rankings also work to demonstrate how strong a class can be. This also means one can unlock a class of the same ranking, but more powerful abilities, if one completes the requirements for that class.

The Skill Points needed for each class are also determined by these ranks.

The ranks are as follows:

Alvatria's comment: Special classes matches my taste better than the others.